E F F E C T O F DIETARY ASCORBIC ACID ON IRON UTILIZATION IN T H E GROWING CHICK12 ADNAN MOUHAMAD-ALI M I S K I 3 AND F . H . KRATZER
Department of Avian Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (Received for publication August 6, 1975)
ABSTRACT Day-old male broiler chicks were fed for three weeks a purified casein diet with the addition of different levels of iron and ascorbic acid. Dietary ascorbic acid fed at 0.4% increased the hemoglobin concentration and total body iron retention when the diets fed were low in iron (23 p.p.m.). At 0.1% level in the diet, ascorbic acid caused an increase in total body iron retention in chitks fed diets marginal in iron (40 p.p.m.) and did not affect either parameter in chicks fed diets adequate in iron (100 p.p.m.). POULTRY SCIENCE 55: 454-456, 1976
A
SCORBIC acid has been shown to enhance iron absorption from organic and inorganic sources in anemic and normal rats (Forrester et al., 1962; Van Campen and Gross, 1969; Van Campen, 1972; Morris and Green, 1972), anemic and normal humans (Moore and Dubach, 1951; Sayers et al., 1973), and normal pigs (Gipp et al., 1974). On the other hand, dietary ascorbic acid did not affect iron absorption and utilization in normal and anemic chicks (Hill and Starcher, 1965; Fritz and Pla, 1972; Pla et al., 1973). Since dietary ascorbic acid enhanced iron absorption in the rat, human, and other animal species, this study was designed to clarify its role in the growing chick. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-two day-old male, broiler type chicks 4 were housed in electrically heated stainless steel batteries with wire floors in 1. Adnan Mouhamad-Ali Miski was supported by a scholarship from the Lebanese National Research Council for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 8281, Beirut, Lebanon. 2. Reprint requests should be submitted to F. H. Kratzer. 3. Nutrition researcher at the Lebanese National Research Council for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 8281, Beirut, Lebanon.' 4. Foster Farms, Livingston, California.
5. The mineral mixture supplied the following in g./kg. diet: NaCl, 5; KC1, 3; K2HPO„, 3; MgS0 4 , 3; M n S 0 4 H 2 0 , 0.3; CuS0 4 -5H 2 0, 0.04; ZnO, 0.1; Co(C 2 H 3 0 2 0 2 )2-4H 2 0, 0.01; Na 2 MoO„-2H 2 0, 0.01, KI, 0.005; Na 2 Se0 3 -5H 2 0, 0.002; and NaF, 0.01. 6. The vitamin mixture supplied the following per Kg. of diet: retinyl palmitate, 10,000 I.U.; cholecalciferol, 1500 I.C.U.; dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate, 100 I.U.; in (mg.) menadione, 2.5; thiamine HC1, 10; riboflavin, 20; niacin, 100; calcium pantothenate, 30; pyridoxine-HCl, 15; folic acid, 5; biotin, 0.5; vitamin B-12, 0.03; inositol, 100; and butylated hydroxytoluene, 500. 7. Model 303 Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Norwalk, Connecticut.
454
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a light cycle of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and were fed for three days a chick starter diet. On the fourth day they were wing banded, weighed, and randomly divided into six groups of equal number and comparable weight. The percentage composition of the purified basal diet prepared was: casein, 22; mineral mixture, 5 1.45; vitamin mixture, 6 0.31; corn oil (Mazola), 5; cellulose, 3; C a C 0 3 , 1; C a H P 0 4 - 2 H 2 0 , 3; DL-methionine, 0.3; L-arginineHCl, 1.24, L-glutamic acid, 1; glycine, 1.5; choline chloride, 0.2; and glucose, 60%. The basal diet contained 23 p.p.m. Fe (determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry 7 ) and 28.8% protein (Kjeldahl N x 6.25). Chicks were fed the basal diet with and without supplemental iron and or L-ascorbic acid (AA). Thus the basal
INTRODUCTION
455
RESEARCH NOTES
diet fed to groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 contained 23 p.p.m. Fe, 23 p.p.m. Fe + 0.4% AA, 40 p.p.m. Fe, 40 p.p.m. Fe + 0.1% AA, 100 p.p.m. Fe, and 100 p.p.m. Fe + 0.1% AA, respectively. Changes in the iron and AA content of the diets were made by supplementing the basal diet with powered ferrous sulfate ( F e S 0 4 - 7 H 2 0 ) and L-ascorbic acid at the expense of glucose. Feed and distilled water were provided ad libitum. The diets were kept refrigerated throughout the experiment. At 3 weeks of age, chicks were killed and body and liver weights, feed to gain ratio, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and iron concentration in the eviscerated chick carcass were determined.
Statistical analysis was performed by Duncan's new multiple range test (Little and Hills, 1972).
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The addition of 0.4% AA (Table 1) to the diet with 23 p.p.m. Fe caused a slight but statistically insignificant increase in body weight gain (between 7 and 21 days of age), a significant increase in hemoglobin and whole eviscerated carcass iron concentration
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The hemoglobin concentration (values reported are for nonresistant cell hemoglobin) was determined by the cyanomethemoglobin method. Hematocrit was determined by the standard micro-capillary method. Analyses for iron in the basal diet and chick eviscerated carcass was performed by wet ashing with nitric and perchloric acid and the digest was analyzed for iron by the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. 7 The whole eviscerated chick carcass (includes the whole chick carcass and blood minus the following: gastrointestinal tract, liver, heart, spleen, pancreas, and wing flight feathers) was cut into small pieces and homogenized in a Sorvall mixer. A sample of the homogenized eviscerated carcass was used to determine carcass iron concentration.
06
Department of Avian Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (Received for publication August 6, 1975)
ABSTRACT Day-old male broiler chicks were fed for three weeks a purified casein diet with the addition of different levels of iron and ascorbic acid. Dietary ascorbic acid fed at 0.4% increased the hemoglobin concentration and total body iron retention when the diets fed were low in iron (23 p.p.m.). At 0.1% level in the diet, ascorbic acid caused an increase in total body iron retention in chitks fed diets marginal in iron (40 p.p.m.) and did not affect either parameter in chicks fed diets adequate in iron (100 p.p.m.). POULTRY SCIENCE 55: 454-456, 1976
A
SCORBIC acid has been shown to enhance iron absorption from organic and inorganic sources in anemic and normal rats (Forrester et al., 1962; Van Campen and Gross, 1969; Van Campen, 1972; Morris and Green, 1972), anemic and normal humans (Moore and Dubach, 1951; Sayers et al., 1973), and normal pigs (Gipp et al., 1974). On the other hand, dietary ascorbic acid did not affect iron absorption and utilization in normal and anemic chicks (Hill and Starcher, 1965; Fritz and Pla, 1972; Pla et al., 1973). Since dietary ascorbic acid enhanced iron absorption in the rat, human, and other animal species, this study was designed to clarify its role in the growing chick. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-two day-old male, broiler type chicks 4 were housed in electrically heated stainless steel batteries with wire floors in 1. Adnan Mouhamad-Ali Miski was supported by a scholarship from the Lebanese National Research Council for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 8281, Beirut, Lebanon. 2. Reprint requests should be submitted to F. H. Kratzer. 3. Nutrition researcher at the Lebanese National Research Council for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 8281, Beirut, Lebanon.' 4. Foster Farms, Livingston, California.
5. The mineral mixture supplied the following in g./kg. diet: NaCl, 5; KC1, 3; K2HPO„, 3; MgS0 4 , 3; M n S 0 4 H 2 0 , 0.3; CuS0 4 -5H 2 0, 0.04; ZnO, 0.1; Co(C 2 H 3 0 2 0 2 )2-4H 2 0, 0.01; Na 2 MoO„-2H 2 0, 0.01, KI, 0.005; Na 2 Se0 3 -5H 2 0, 0.002; and NaF, 0.01. 6. The vitamin mixture supplied the following per Kg. of diet: retinyl palmitate, 10,000 I.U.; cholecalciferol, 1500 I.C.U.; dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate, 100 I.U.; in (mg.) menadione, 2.5; thiamine HC1, 10; riboflavin, 20; niacin, 100; calcium pantothenate, 30; pyridoxine-HCl, 15; folic acid, 5; biotin, 0.5; vitamin B-12, 0.03; inositol, 100; and butylated hydroxytoluene, 500. 7. Model 303 Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Norwalk, Connecticut.
454
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on May 6, 2015
a light cycle of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and were fed for three days a chick starter diet. On the fourth day they were wing banded, weighed, and randomly divided into six groups of equal number and comparable weight. The percentage composition of the purified basal diet prepared was: casein, 22; mineral mixture, 5 1.45; vitamin mixture, 6 0.31; corn oil (Mazola), 5; cellulose, 3; C a C 0 3 , 1; C a H P 0 4 - 2 H 2 0 , 3; DL-methionine, 0.3; L-arginineHCl, 1.24, L-glutamic acid, 1; glycine, 1.5; choline chloride, 0.2; and glucose, 60%. The basal diet contained 23 p.p.m. Fe (determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry 7 ) and 28.8% protein (Kjeldahl N x 6.25). Chicks were fed the basal diet with and without supplemental iron and or L-ascorbic acid (AA). Thus the basal
INTRODUCTION
455
RESEARCH NOTES
diet fed to groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 contained 23 p.p.m. Fe, 23 p.p.m. Fe + 0.4% AA, 40 p.p.m. Fe, 40 p.p.m. Fe + 0.1% AA, 100 p.p.m. Fe, and 100 p.p.m. Fe + 0.1% AA, respectively. Changes in the iron and AA content of the diets were made by supplementing the basal diet with powered ferrous sulfate ( F e S 0 4 - 7 H 2 0 ) and L-ascorbic acid at the expense of glucose. Feed and distilled water were provided ad libitum. The diets were kept refrigerated throughout the experiment. At 3 weeks of age, chicks were killed and body and liver weights, feed to gain ratio, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and iron concentration in the eviscerated chick carcass were determined.
Statistical analysis was performed by Duncan's new multiple range test (Little and Hills, 1972).
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The addition of 0.4% AA (Table 1) to the diet with 23 p.p.m. Fe caused a slight but statistically insignificant increase in body weight gain (between 7 and 21 days of age), a significant increase in hemoglobin and whole eviscerated carcass iron concentration
00
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..
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s-jao o > s a, •s aoo-as 5 >,
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on May 6, 2015
The hemoglobin concentration (values reported are for nonresistant cell hemoglobin) was determined by the cyanomethemoglobin method. Hematocrit was determined by the standard micro-capillary method. Analyses for iron in the basal diet and chick eviscerated carcass was performed by wet ashing with nitric and perchloric acid and the digest was analyzed for iron by the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. 7 The whole eviscerated chick carcass (includes the whole chick carcass and blood minus the following: gastrointestinal tract, liver, heart, spleen, pancreas, and wing flight feathers) was cut into small pieces and homogenized in a Sorvall mixer. A sample of the homogenized eviscerated carcass was used to determine carcass iron concentration.
06
