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Macroelements in the Circulation of Coccidiosis-Infected Chicks1
Macroelements in the Circulation of Coccidiosis-Infected Chicks1 D. E.TURK Food Science Department, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0371 (Received for publication May 16, 1985)
1986 Poultry Science 65:462-468 INTRODUCTION
In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on the effects of intestinal parasitism on the absorption of minerals (Turk, 1978; Bafundo et al., 1984) and their concentrations in the tissues (Bafundo et al, 1984). However, no systematic study of the effects of coccidial infections in selected parts of the intestine upon the concentration of minerals in circulation during the infective cycle has been reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) male chicks were grown to 4 weeks of age in wirefloored battery brooders with ad libitum access to a nonmedicated corn-soy chick starter (Table 1) and tap water. At 4 weeks of age, the birds were separated into five groups of 60 chicks each. One group was left uninfected (control), one group was inoculated orally with a single inoculation of E. acervulina (1,000,000 sporulated oocysts/bird), one with a single inoculation of E. necatrix (50,000 sporulated oocysts/ bird), one with E. brunetti (75,000 sporulated oocysts/bird), and one with E. tenella (50,000 sporulated oocysts/bird). Each group was
1 Published with the approval of the Director of the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station as technical contribution No. 2521.
placed in a wire-floored pen with ad libitum access to the nonmedicated chick starter and tap water. On the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and 35th days after inoculation, five birds were selected at random from each group, and blood samples were taken by cardiac puncture. Following cardiac puncture, the birds were killed and the intestine examined for severity and location of the lesions produced by the coccidial infections. Hemoglobin concentrations, hematocrits, and erythrocyte counts were determined by the oxyhemoglobin method (Collier, 1955), microcentrifugation, and a Hematology analyzer (Clay Adams, Parsippany, NJ 07054, Model HA-5), respectively. Calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium concentrations in the plasma were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AOAC, 1980). All standards were referred to those of the National Bureau of Standards. Statistical analyses were performed using the SAS Statistical Package (SAS, 1982). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Each group inoculated with sporulated oocysts of one of the four species of coccidia exhibited decreased growth by the 3rd to 4th day after inoculation. In each case, lesions of the intestine or ceca characteristic of the species of coccidia inoculated were seen by the 4th or 5th days after inoculation. No evidence
462
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Kainan University on May 2, 2015
ABSTRACT Four-week-old Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) chicks were inoculated with either Eimeria acervulina, E. necatrix, E. brunetti, E. tenella, or left uninfected. On the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and 35th days after inoculation, blood was removed from five birds in each group, and the content of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, hemoglobin, erythrocytes, and packed cell volumes were determined. Hemoglobin, erythrocyte concentrations, and hematocrits all decreased during the acute phase of the infections and returned to normal during recovery. Plasma calcium concentrations were significantly decreased by the upper intestinal tract infections, but decreases were smaller in lower tract infections. Plasma magnesium was decreased and then increased by lower tract infections, but upper tract infections had variable effects. In contrast to earlier reports, acute phase E. acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. tenella infections decreased sodium plasma concentrations. Piasma potassium concentrations were variable, but increases were associated with the induction phases of E. necatrix and E. brunetti infections. (Key words: coccidiosis, minerals, macroelements, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium)
COCCIDIOSIS AND MACROELEMENTS
463
TABLE 1. Diets used . til
Ingredient
Yellow corn Soybean oil meal, 48.5% protein Alfalfa Animal fat Limestone Defluorinated rock phosphate Salt Premix1 Zinc sulfate Manganese sulfate Ethoxyquin
(g/kg) 644.07 250.00 70.00 5.00 4.00 20.00 4.00 2.50
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of mixed infections were detected by visual examination. The lesions ranged from moderate to severe by the 6th and 7th days, followed by progressive recovery that was complete by the 14th day. However, in the case of the E. tenella infections, cecal cores or minor cecal irritations were seen on the 21st day. Body weights of the infected groups became similar to those of the uninfected controls by the 28th day postinoculation. All four coccidial infections resulted in numerical decreases in hemoglobin concentrations during the acute phase of the infections (Table 2). In many cases, however, the accompanying increases in variation decreased the statistical significance of relatively large numerical decreases in hemoglobin concentrations. In the case of E. tenella infections, hemoglobin concentrations were significantly decreased from the 5 th to the 9th days of the infection, while E. acervulina decreased hemoglobin concentrations numerically from the 5th through the 14th days of the infection. In the case of E. necatrix infections, hemoglobin concentrations were decreased from the 6th through the 14th days, while E. brunetti infections decreased hemoglobin concentrations from the 5th through 10th days. Erythrocyte concentrations (Table 3) were significantly decreased by E. tenella infections on Days 5 through 8 postinoculation and by E.
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'Nutrients supplied per kilogram: Vitamin A, 7700 IU; Vitamin D 3 , 1650 ICU; Vitamin E, 5 rag; Vitamin B 1 2 , 9 Mg; riboflavin, 4.5 mg; niacin, 28 mg; pantothenate, 6.6 mg; menadione sodium bisulfite, 2.2 mg; folic acid, .44 mg; ethoxyquin, 62 mg; manganese, 75 mg; zinc, 60 mg; iron, 40 mg; copper, 4 mg; and iodine, 1 mg.
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In the case of E. brunetti infections, numerical decreases in erythrocyte concentrations occurred from the 7th through 14th days with significant decreases on the 8th, 9th, and 14th days. Natt and Herrick (1955) reported decreases of up to 59% in the numbers of erythrocytes during the acute phase of E. tenella infections, along with similar decreases in corpuscular volume (Natt and Herrick, 1956). Decreases of this magnitude were not observed in these studies, however. The patterns exhibited by packed cell volumes (Table 4) were similar to the patterns seen in hemoglobin and erythrocyte concentrations. Significantly decreased hematocrits were seen in E. acervulina infections from the 5th through 14th days, and in the E. necatrix infections from the 5th through 10th days, with the exception of the 6th day. In E. brunetti infections from the 3rd through 21st days, nonsignificant decreases were seen, while significant decreases in packed cell volume occurred in E. tenella infections from the 3rd through 7th days. An interesting observation is the significant increase in packed cell volume that occurred on the first day in the E. brunetti infection and the numerically similar increase at the same time in E. tenella infections. This suggests that considerable fluid losses may be occurring in birds infected with these two parasites very early in the infection. Packed cell volume decreases have been noted by several
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Kainan University on May 2, 2015
acervulina infections on Days 6 through 8. Eimeria necatrix infections significantly decreased erythrocyte concentrations on Days 7 and 14 postinoculation, although numerical decreases occurred from the 5 th through 14th days. There appeared to be a marginally significant (P>.05) increase in erythrocyte numbers and packed cell volumes 21 to 28 days after innoculation, which was not seen in the other infections. This increase in erythrocytes may have been a transient overproduction of erythrocytes in response to the intestinal hemorrhage of the acute phase of the infection. It is more probable, however, that the increase was due to a loss of water from the intestine and hemoconcentration as a result of delayed emergence of merizoites at this time. The increase may have been a chance aberration, since a similar increase was not seen in the E. tenella infections where the hemorrhaging was more severe and which should have resulted in a greater perturbation of the controls of the erythrocyte synthesis system.
COCCIDIOSIS AND MACROELEMENTS
laboratories in E. tenella (Visco, 1973) and E. necatrix (Stephens, 1965) infections, but not in E. acervulina, E. brunetti, or E. mivati infections (Stephens et al, 1974). The differences observed between the various laboratories are probably related to differences in the strains of coccidia utilized in the studies and the severity of the resulting infections. Plasma calcium concentrations (Table 5) were decreased both significantly and numerically by infections of the upper portion of the intestine (E. acervulina) during the acute phase of the infective cycle from the 5 th through 8th or 9th days and again on the 21st day. The plasma calcium concentrations were not as markedly decreased by the infections of the lower gastrointestinal (Gl) tract (E. brunetti, E. tenella), although both produced significant decreases of plasma calcium content during the induction stages of the infection. This behavior is similar in some ways to the effects of these organisms on calcium absorption, in which it has been shown that coccidial infections of the intestine result in approximately the same decrease in calcium absorption during the acute phase of all the infections, but cecal (E. tenella) infections did not significantly affect calcium absorption (Turk, 1973). Because the changes in plasma calcium content are not completely parallel to the previously described changes in calcium absorption, other perturbations of calcium metabolism beyond those affecting absorption must be occurring during coccidial infections.
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In the case of plasma magnesium concentrations (Table 6), none of the parasitic infections produced consistent or significant decreases during the acute phase of the infections except for the cecal infection, E. tenella. This infection resulted in a significant decrease in plasma magnesium on the 5th day, followed by an increase of plasma magnesium concentrations on the 8th day of the infection when compared with the uninfected birds. This increase was also seen in plasma calcium concentrations (Table 5). The physiological reason for this behavior on the part of is. tenella infections is not apparent. Because this infection results in a much greater blood loss than in the case of the intestinal infections, some mechanism may be operating to preserve the blood concentrations of calcium and magnesium and may be overshooting its goal near the end of the acute phase and at the beginning of the recovery phase of E. tenella infections. The
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TURK tenella infections. The reason for such a change is unknown, but it may be associated with the large amount of new cell synthesis that is taking place at this time to replace intestinal cells damaged by the parasites. Other factors must also be involved, because this phenomena was not seen in the E. necatrix and E. brunetti infections. It is apparent from this data that plasma concentrations of the major minerals, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium, are controlled not only by absorptive effects produced by the parasites but also by the host's responses to the presence of the parasites. REFERENCES Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 1980. Official Methods of Analysis. 13th ed. Assoc. Offic. Anal. Chem., Washington, DC. Bafundo, K. W., Baker, D. H., and Fitzgerald, P. R., 1984. Zinc utilization in the chick as influenced by dietary concentrations of calcium and phytate and Eimeria acervulina infection. Poultry Sci. 63:2430-2437. Collier, H. B., 1955. Use of a sequestering agent in determination of oxyhemoglobin. Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 25:221-222. Natt, M. P., and Herrick, C. A., 1955. The effect of cecal coccidiosis on the blood cells of the domestic fowl. Poultry Sci. 34:1100-1106. Natt, M. P., and Herrick, C. A., 1956. The effect of cecal coccidiosis on the blood cells of the domestic fowl. 2. Poultry Sci. 35:311-316. SAS, 1982. SAS User's Guide: Statistics. SAS Inst. Cary, NC. Singh, E. V., Joshi, H. C , and Shah, H. L., 1976. Biochemical studies of intestinal coccidiosis in poultry. Panthagar-J. Res. 1:63—66. Stephens, J. F., 1965. Some physiological effects of coccidiosis caused by Eimeria necatrix in the chicken. J. Parasitol. 51:331-335. Stephens, J. F., Borst, W. J., and Barnett, B. D., 1974. Some physiological effects of Eimeria acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. mivati infections in young chickens. Poultry Sci. 53:1735-1742. Turk, D. E., 1973. Calcium absorption during coccidial infections in chicks. Poultry Sci. 52:854—857. Turk, D. E., 1978. The effects of coccidiosis on intestinal function and gut microflora. Pages 227-267 in Avian Coccidiosis. P. L. Long, K. N. Boorman, and B. M. Freeman, ed. Br. Poult. Sci. Ltd. Edinburgh, Scotland. Visco, R. J., 1973. Eimeria tenella infections in testosterone injected chicks. J. Parasitol. 59: 631-634.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Kainan University on May 2, 2015
clear tendency for the infections located in the mid- and lower intestine (E. necatrix and E. brunetti) to result in increased magnesium concentrations immediately before and after the acute phase of the infections should be noted. The physiological reasons for this are obscure, as no data on the effect of these parasite infections on magnesium absorption are available. This effect could also be the result of other physiological reactions to the parasitism than those affecting magnesium absorption. Plasma sodium concentrations (Table 7) were decreased by E. acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. tenella infections during the acute phases. Eimeria necatrix infections and the induction of E. brunetti infections, on the other hand, tended to increase plasma sodium content. This data is somewhat at variance with earlier data that birds were able to control plasma sodium concentrations quite well in spite of the infections reported by Singh et al. (1976). The data reported here are more extensive than that of Singh et al. (1976) in that more extensive coverage of the coccidial cycle is provided. The infections used in this work were quite severe and may have affected plasma sodium concentrations more than was the case in milder infections. This data indicates that plasma sodium control is good except during the acute phase of the infections. In the case of potassium, however, considerable variation was seen, with frequent increases occurring during the acute phase of the infections (Table 8). These increases were associated particularly with E. necatrix and E. brunetti infections and tended to occur during the early part of the acute phase of the infections. These increases in plasma potassium content were not seen by Singh et al. (1976). Because potassium is an intracellular ion, its appearance in the bloodstream would be expected to be coincident with the period of greatest cell damage and to be a consequence of the extensive cellular damage in the intestinal lining. This is apparently what occurred in these two infections. A sharply decreased plasma potassium concentration was seen on the 9th days of both the E. acervulina and E.
1986 Poultry Science 65:462-468 INTRODUCTION
In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on the effects of intestinal parasitism on the absorption of minerals (Turk, 1978; Bafundo et al., 1984) and their concentrations in the tissues (Bafundo et al, 1984). However, no systematic study of the effects of coccidial infections in selected parts of the intestine upon the concentration of minerals in circulation during the infective cycle has been reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) male chicks were grown to 4 weeks of age in wirefloored battery brooders with ad libitum access to a nonmedicated corn-soy chick starter (Table 1) and tap water. At 4 weeks of age, the birds were separated into five groups of 60 chicks each. One group was left uninfected (control), one group was inoculated orally with a single inoculation of E. acervulina (1,000,000 sporulated oocysts/bird), one with a single inoculation of E. necatrix (50,000 sporulated oocysts/ bird), one with E. brunetti (75,000 sporulated oocysts/bird), and one with E. tenella (50,000 sporulated oocysts/bird). Each group was
1 Published with the approval of the Director of the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station as technical contribution No. 2521.
placed in a wire-floored pen with ad libitum access to the nonmedicated chick starter and tap water. On the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and 35th days after inoculation, five birds were selected at random from each group, and blood samples were taken by cardiac puncture. Following cardiac puncture, the birds were killed and the intestine examined for severity and location of the lesions produced by the coccidial infections. Hemoglobin concentrations, hematocrits, and erythrocyte counts were determined by the oxyhemoglobin method (Collier, 1955), microcentrifugation, and a Hematology analyzer (Clay Adams, Parsippany, NJ 07054, Model HA-5), respectively. Calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium concentrations in the plasma were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AOAC, 1980). All standards were referred to those of the National Bureau of Standards. Statistical analyses were performed using the SAS Statistical Package (SAS, 1982). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Each group inoculated with sporulated oocysts of one of the four species of coccidia exhibited decreased growth by the 3rd to 4th day after inoculation. In each case, lesions of the intestine or ceca characteristic of the species of coccidia inoculated were seen by the 4th or 5th days after inoculation. No evidence
462
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Kainan University on May 2, 2015
ABSTRACT Four-week-old Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) chicks were inoculated with either Eimeria acervulina, E. necatrix, E. brunetti, E. tenella, or left uninfected. On the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and 35th days after inoculation, blood was removed from five birds in each group, and the content of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, hemoglobin, erythrocytes, and packed cell volumes were determined. Hemoglobin, erythrocyte concentrations, and hematocrits all decreased during the acute phase of the infections and returned to normal during recovery. Plasma calcium concentrations were significantly decreased by the upper intestinal tract infections, but decreases were smaller in lower tract infections. Plasma magnesium was decreased and then increased by lower tract infections, but upper tract infections had variable effects. In contrast to earlier reports, acute phase E. acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. tenella infections decreased sodium plasma concentrations. Piasma potassium concentrations were variable, but increases were associated with the induction phases of E. necatrix and E. brunetti infections. (Key words: coccidiosis, minerals, macroelements, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium)
COCCIDIOSIS AND MACROELEMENTS
463
TABLE 1. Diets used . til
Ingredient
Yellow corn Soybean oil meal, 48.5% protein Alfalfa Animal fat Limestone Defluorinated rock phosphate Salt Premix1 Zinc sulfate Manganese sulfate Ethoxyquin
(g/kg) 644.07 250.00 70.00 5.00 4.00 20.00 4.00 2.50
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of mixed infections were detected by visual examination. The lesions ranged from moderate to severe by the 6th and 7th days, followed by progressive recovery that was complete by the 14th day. However, in the case of the E. tenella infections, cecal cores or minor cecal irritations were seen on the 21st day. Body weights of the infected groups became similar to those of the uninfected controls by the 28th day postinoculation. All four coccidial infections resulted in numerical decreases in hemoglobin concentrations during the acute phase of the infections (Table 2). In many cases, however, the accompanying increases in variation decreased the statistical significance of relatively large numerical decreases in hemoglobin concentrations. In the case of E. tenella infections, hemoglobin concentrations were significantly decreased from the 5 th to the 9th days of the infection, while E. acervulina decreased hemoglobin concentrations numerically from the 5th through the 14th days of the infection. In the case of E. necatrix infections, hemoglobin concentrations were decreased from the 6th through the 14th days, while E. brunetti infections decreased hemoglobin concentrations from the 5th through 10th days. Erythrocyte concentrations (Table 3) were significantly decreased by E. tenella infections on Days 5 through 8 postinoculation and by E.
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'Nutrients supplied per kilogram: Vitamin A, 7700 IU; Vitamin D 3 , 1650 ICU; Vitamin E, 5 rag; Vitamin B 1 2 , 9 Mg; riboflavin, 4.5 mg; niacin, 28 mg; pantothenate, 6.6 mg; menadione sodium bisulfite, 2.2 mg; folic acid, .44 mg; ethoxyquin, 62 mg; manganese, 75 mg; zinc, 60 mg; iron, 40 mg; copper, 4 mg; and iodine, 1 mg.
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In the case of E. brunetti infections, numerical decreases in erythrocyte concentrations occurred from the 7th through 14th days with significant decreases on the 8th, 9th, and 14th days. Natt and Herrick (1955) reported decreases of up to 59% in the numbers of erythrocytes during the acute phase of E. tenella infections, along with similar decreases in corpuscular volume (Natt and Herrick, 1956). Decreases of this magnitude were not observed in these studies, however. The patterns exhibited by packed cell volumes (Table 4) were similar to the patterns seen in hemoglobin and erythrocyte concentrations. Significantly decreased hematocrits were seen in E. acervulina infections from the 5th through 14th days, and in the E. necatrix infections from the 5th through 10th days, with the exception of the 6th day. In E. brunetti infections from the 3rd through 21st days, nonsignificant decreases were seen, while significant decreases in packed cell volume occurred in E. tenella infections from the 3rd through 7th days. An interesting observation is the significant increase in packed cell volume that occurred on the first day in the E. brunetti infection and the numerically similar increase at the same time in E. tenella infections. This suggests that considerable fluid losses may be occurring in birds infected with these two parasites very early in the infection. Packed cell volume decreases have been noted by several
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Kainan University on May 2, 2015
acervulina infections on Days 6 through 8. Eimeria necatrix infections significantly decreased erythrocyte concentrations on Days 7 and 14 postinoculation, although numerical decreases occurred from the 5 th through 14th days. There appeared to be a marginally significant (P>.05) increase in erythrocyte numbers and packed cell volumes 21 to 28 days after innoculation, which was not seen in the other infections. This increase in erythrocytes may have been a transient overproduction of erythrocytes in response to the intestinal hemorrhage of the acute phase of the infection. It is more probable, however, that the increase was due to a loss of water from the intestine and hemoconcentration as a result of delayed emergence of merizoites at this time. The increase may have been a chance aberration, since a similar increase was not seen in the E. tenella infections where the hemorrhaging was more severe and which should have resulted in a greater perturbation of the controls of the erythrocyte synthesis system.
COCCIDIOSIS AND MACROELEMENTS
laboratories in E. tenella (Visco, 1973) and E. necatrix (Stephens, 1965) infections, but not in E. acervulina, E. brunetti, or E. mivati infections (Stephens et al, 1974). The differences observed between the various laboratories are probably related to differences in the strains of coccidia utilized in the studies and the severity of the resulting infections. Plasma calcium concentrations (Table 5) were decreased both significantly and numerically by infections of the upper portion of the intestine (E. acervulina) during the acute phase of the infective cycle from the 5 th through 8th or 9th days and again on the 21st day. The plasma calcium concentrations were not as markedly decreased by the infections of the lower gastrointestinal (Gl) tract (E. brunetti, E. tenella), although both produced significant decreases of plasma calcium content during the induction stages of the infection. This behavior is similar in some ways to the effects of these organisms on calcium absorption, in which it has been shown that coccidial infections of the intestine result in approximately the same decrease in calcium absorption during the acute phase of all the infections, but cecal (E. tenella) infections did not significantly affect calcium absorption (Turk, 1973). Because the changes in plasma calcium content are not completely parallel to the previously described changes in calcium absorption, other perturbations of calcium metabolism beyond those affecting absorption must be occurring during coccidial infections.
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In the case of plasma magnesium concentrations (Table 6), none of the parasitic infections produced consistent or significant decreases during the acute phase of the infections except for the cecal infection, E. tenella. This infection resulted in a significant decrease in plasma magnesium on the 5th day, followed by an increase of plasma magnesium concentrations on the 8th day of the infection when compared with the uninfected birds. This increase was also seen in plasma calcium concentrations (Table 5). The physiological reason for this behavior on the part of is. tenella infections is not apparent. Because this infection results in a much greater blood loss than in the case of the intestinal infections, some mechanism may be operating to preserve the blood concentrations of calcium and magnesium and may be overshooting its goal near the end of the acute phase and at the beginning of the recovery phase of E. tenella infections. The
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TURK tenella infections. The reason for such a change is unknown, but it may be associated with the large amount of new cell synthesis that is taking place at this time to replace intestinal cells damaged by the parasites. Other factors must also be involved, because this phenomena was not seen in the E. necatrix and E. brunetti infections. It is apparent from this data that plasma concentrations of the major minerals, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium, are controlled not only by absorptive effects produced by the parasites but also by the host's responses to the presence of the parasites. REFERENCES Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 1980. Official Methods of Analysis. 13th ed. Assoc. Offic. Anal. Chem., Washington, DC. Bafundo, K. W., Baker, D. H., and Fitzgerald, P. R., 1984. Zinc utilization in the chick as influenced by dietary concentrations of calcium and phytate and Eimeria acervulina infection. Poultry Sci. 63:2430-2437. Collier, H. B., 1955. Use of a sequestering agent in determination of oxyhemoglobin. Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 25:221-222. Natt, M. P., and Herrick, C. A., 1955. The effect of cecal coccidiosis on the blood cells of the domestic fowl. Poultry Sci. 34:1100-1106. Natt, M. P., and Herrick, C. A., 1956. The effect of cecal coccidiosis on the blood cells of the domestic fowl. 2. Poultry Sci. 35:311-316. SAS, 1982. SAS User's Guide: Statistics. SAS Inst. Cary, NC. Singh, E. V., Joshi, H. C , and Shah, H. L., 1976. Biochemical studies of intestinal coccidiosis in poultry. Panthagar-J. Res. 1:63—66. Stephens, J. F., 1965. Some physiological effects of coccidiosis caused by Eimeria necatrix in the chicken. J. Parasitol. 51:331-335. Stephens, J. F., Borst, W. J., and Barnett, B. D., 1974. Some physiological effects of Eimeria acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. mivati infections in young chickens. Poultry Sci. 53:1735-1742. Turk, D. E., 1973. Calcium absorption during coccidial infections in chicks. Poultry Sci. 52:854—857. Turk, D. E., 1978. The effects of coccidiosis on intestinal function and gut microflora. Pages 227-267 in Avian Coccidiosis. P. L. Long, K. N. Boorman, and B. M. Freeman, ed. Br. Poult. Sci. Ltd. Edinburgh, Scotland. Visco, R. J., 1973. Eimeria tenella infections in testosterone injected chicks. J. Parasitol. 59: 631-634.
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clear tendency for the infections located in the mid- and lower intestine (E. necatrix and E. brunetti) to result in increased magnesium concentrations immediately before and after the acute phase of the infections should be noted. The physiological reasons for this are obscure, as no data on the effect of these parasite infections on magnesium absorption are available. This effect could also be the result of other physiological reactions to the parasitism than those affecting magnesium absorption. Plasma sodium concentrations (Table 7) were decreased by E. acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. tenella infections during the acute phases. Eimeria necatrix infections and the induction of E. brunetti infections, on the other hand, tended to increase plasma sodium content. This data is somewhat at variance with earlier data that birds were able to control plasma sodium concentrations quite well in spite of the infections reported by Singh et al. (1976). The data reported here are more extensive than that of Singh et al. (1976) in that more extensive coverage of the coccidial cycle is provided. The infections used in this work were quite severe and may have affected plasma sodium concentrations more than was the case in milder infections. This data indicates that plasma sodium control is good except during the acute phase of the infections. In the case of potassium, however, considerable variation was seen, with frequent increases occurring during the acute phase of the infections (Table 8). These increases were associated particularly with E. necatrix and E. brunetti infections and tended to occur during the early part of the acute phase of the infections. These increases in plasma potassium content were not seen by Singh et al. (1976). Because potassium is an intracellular ion, its appearance in the bloodstream would be expected to be coincident with the period of greatest cell damage and to be a consequence of the extensive cellular damage in the intestinal lining. This is apparently what occurred in these two infections. A sharply decreased plasma potassium concentration was seen on the 9th days of both the E. acervulina and E.