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Vanadium Toxicity in Laying Hens*
Vanadium Toxicity in Laying Hens LAWRENCE R. BERG, GORDON E. BEARSE AND LOUIS H. MERRILL Washington State University, Western Washington Experiment Station, Puyallup, Washington (Received for publication April 23, 1963)
TABLE 1.—Percentage composition of rations
F
PROCEDURE
In the preliminary study, 40, approximately 12 months old, strain cross White Leghorn hens were divided into four groups of 10 each. The birds were kept in individual wire cages. Two diets, differing only as to source of tricalcium phosphate, were prepared using the formula of ration 1, Table 1. Each diet was fed to two groups for eight weeks. Haugh units and shell thickness were determined for three eggs laid by each bird prior to the test, and after 2, 4 and 8 weeks of feeding the test rations. The second experiment was conducted to determine the effect of adding graded levels of vanadium from ammonium vanadate to the ration of White Leghorn hens. The basal ration used was ration 2, Table 1. The tricalcium phosphate was the same as indicated as sample 1, Table 2. Sixteen groups of 50-60 hens each were used in
Ration Ingredient l Ground corn Ground milo Ground barley Dehydrated grass Soybean meal, 50% protein Herring fish meal Tricalcium phosphate Limestone flour Salt Tallow dl Methionine
1
22
71.8
— —
3.0 17.6
—
2.0 5.25 .30
—
.05
25.0 22.0 25.0 3.0 8.85 5.00 1.22 7.63 .30 2.00
—
1
Added per lb. of diet: 350 I.C.U. vitamin D 3 , 1,500 I.U. vitamin A, 2 mg. riboflavin, 2 mg. Ca pantothenate, 6 mg. niacin, .004 mg. vitamin B12, 57 mg. ethoxyquin and 57 mg. MnSQi. 2 Added per lb. of diet: 350 I.C.U. vitamin D 3 , 1,500 I.U. vitamin A, 3 mg. riboflavin, 2 mg. Ca pantothenate, 57 mg. ethoxyquin and 57 mg. MnS0 4 .
the study. The birds were of the same hatch as used in the first experiment, but were approximately 15 months old when the test started. The 16 groups were maintained in similar litter-floored pens of one house. Eight rations containing graded levels of added vanadium from 0 to 100 ppm., as shown in Table 3, were each fed to two TABLE 2.—A comparison of the effect of two samples of "feed grade" tricalcium phosphate on albumen quality
1 Scientific paper No. 2349, Washington Agricultural Experinent Stations, Pullman. Project No. 1248.
1407
Phos. sample
Haugl 1 units Group No. Prelim. 2 wks. 4 wks. 8 wks.
1
1 2 Av.
83.5 86.2 84.9
83.6 86.5 85.1
84.1 88.5 86.3
81.6 85.0 83.3
2
3 4 Av.
83.5 i "78.7 83.6 76.5 77.6 83.6
[78.6 77.4 78.0
69.3 71.3 70.3
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
OLLOWING our observations (Berg, 1963) that certain commercial phosphorus supplements contained sufficient vanadium to suppress growth of chicks when added to a corn-soy ration, a preliminary study was made to compare the performance of laying hens fed rations supplemented with "high vanadium" and "low vanadium" phosphate sources. The results of the preliminary test suggested that a more detailed study of the effects of adding varying levels of vanadium to a laying ration should be made.
1408
L. R. B E R G , G. E. B E A R S E AND L. H. TABLE 3.--Effect
of leveI of dietary vanadium on albumen q'ualily Haugh units, date
Ppm. vanadium added 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 100
MERRILL
12/3 a ba a ba b ba b b
1
80.S 77.5 79.5 75.5 73.0 75.0 72.5 72.5
12/11 5
a ab a be c be c c
a ba b b c c c c
79.0 a 78.0 a 75.5 b 76.0 b 71.5c 73.0 c 72.5 c 72.0 c
12/19 a 79.0 a ba76.0ab cb 73.0 be cb 73.0 be c69.5d c70.0cd c69.0d c70.0cd2
1/183
12/27 a ba cb cb dc dc d cba
80.0 75.0 73.5 72.5 68.0 68.5 65.0 74.0
a b b b c c c b
79.5 77.5 77.0 74.0 71.5 71.5 70.5 77.0
2/4 a a ab abc be be c ab
71.0 d4 76.0 ab 75.5 abc 74.0 abed 72.0 cd 73.5 bed 71.Od 77.5a
On vanadium treatments five days before first observation made. Returned to basal diet on December 14. All of remaining vanadium treated pens returned to basal on January 5. 4 Two pens which had received basal continuously were given 40 p.p.m. added vanadium on January 23. AH other pens continued on basal. 5 Values with unlike letters are significantly different from each other. Letters to right and left represent .05 and .01 level of probability, respectively, Duncan (1955). 2 3
groups of birds. H a u g h units and specific gravity of the eggs were first determined on one day's production five days after feeding the test rations started. These observations were subsequently repeated at three eight-day intervals. Groups receiving 100 ppm. of vanadium were returned to the basal diet after 16 days on treatment because of a marked decline in egg production a n d evidence of the beginning of a general molt. After being on the vanadium t r e a t m e n t for 38 days, all other vanadium fed groups were returned to the basal diet and egg quality measurements were taken 13 days post change. The two groups which had been fed the basal diet only were then given the diet with 40 ppm. vanadium added and measurements were again taken 12 days hence. Egg production was determined on a hen day basis for each pen. Average body weight changes were determined by group weighing the pens of birds prior to the test and after four weeks on the test diets. Four males were placed in each pen a t the start of the test. A group of 100 eggs obtained from each pen after the birds had been on the test diets for four weeks was incubated.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
I n the preliminary test no significant differences in rate of lay were obtained with the two phosphorus supplements. The use of phosphorus sample 2, however, resulted in a marked decrease in albumen quality as expressed b y Haugh units (Table 2). Shell thickness was not affected. Phosphorus sample 2 contained approximately 0.25% V2Os and a t the level fed supplied about 28 ppm. vanadium to the diet. T h a t the vanadium of the sample was responsible for the depressed albumen quality is suggested by the results of adding graded levels of vanadium to the basal diet in experiment 2 (Table 3). Although pretreatment Haugh units were not determined, it is felt t h a t the values for the two control pens a t the first observation were representative for all pens prior to t r e a t m e n t since these pens did not change to a n y degree during the approximately four week experimental period. After five days on treatment, added vanadium levels of 30 ppm. and higher resulted in significantly depressed ( P < . 0 5 ) albumen quality. A level of 20 p p m . added vanadium significantly depressed (P < .05)
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
1
1409
VANADIUM AND LAYING HENS TABLE 4.—Effect
of level of dietary vanadium on rate of lay, hatchability and body weight change
Ppm. vanadium added
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 10 20 30 40 SO 60 100
72.1 70.1 71.5 70.5 71.4 70.4 71.1 70.6
70.6 66.9 72.4 70.3 66.7 65.3 66.0 60.9
64.3 67.3 69.9 67.3 62.0 57.6 59.5 32.3
65.4 68.4 67.8 64.8 58.5 55.6 55.5 19.5 1
59.7 64.4 64.7 60.8 57.6 53.5 49.8 27.1
60.5 63.5 63.6 59.5 57.0 52.8 47.1 37.5
62.3 61.8 62.3 58.2 56.2 54.0 48.2 41.2
% hatch fertile2 eggs
Percent lay, test week
a5 ab a be cd d e
83.9 83.3 79.2 83.4 76.5 76.3 74.3 4
a a ab a b b b
Lbs. change 3 body wt. 0.00 -0.05 -0.05 -0.10 -0.12 -0.09 -0.19 -0.27
Haugh units after 13 days and after 29 days on treatment, the addition of 10 ppm. of vanadium resulted in a similar depression. After 29 days on treatment 60 ppm. of added vanadium had depressed albumen quality by 15 Haugh units (80 vs. 65). Removal of the vanadium from the diet resulted in improvement in albumen quality, but those groups which had been fed 40, 50 and 60 ppm. for 38 days did not return to normal in one month following removal from the feed. Feeding the control pens 40 ppm. added vanadium for 12 days depressed Haugh units from 79.5 to 71.0. Egg production was immediately depressed by 100 ppm. of added vanadium (Table 4). After three weeks on this level, production was down to less than 20% and molt had started. Removal of the vanadium from the feed resulted in an increase in production although it did not return to normal in three weeks. The data indicate that rate of lay was not affected by as much as 20 ppm. of added vanadium but was depressed linearly by 30, 40, 50 and 60 ppm. after 6 weeks on the test diets. Hatchability of fertile eggs decreased with added levels of 40 ppm. and higher,
being decreased from 84 to 74% with 60 ppm. (Table 4). Gross examination of the embryos that failed to hatch revealed no characteristic abnormalities. Whereas the control birds lost no weight during the first four weeks of the test, increasing levels of vanadium in the diet tended to result in increased loss of body weight (Table 4). Egg weight and specific gravity of eggs were not affected by vanadium supplementation of the feed. The results of these experiments show that vanadium is toxic for the hen and that vanadium content should be a factor when considering an ingredient for the ration of laying hens. This would appear to be particularly true of phosphorus supplements. Since basal rations of the type used in these tests have been shown to contain from 5 to 7 ppm. of vanadium (Nelson et al., 1962; Berg, 1963) it would appear that the toxic level for the suppression of oviposition was from 30 to 40 ppm. The amount which will depress albumen quality, however, appears to be approximately 15 to 20 ppm. These values are in the range of the 13 to 30 ppm. levels which have been shown by Romoser et al. (1961),
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
Returned to basal diet during third week. Not considered in statistical treatment of sixth week production. 2 Egg laid after four weeks on test diets. 3 After four weeks on test diets. 4 Insufficient eggs laid to obtain satisfactory sample. 'Values with unlike letters are significantly different from each other, P < . 0 5 .
1410
L. R. B E R G , G. E . B E A R S E AND L. H.
T h e mode of action of vanadium in depressing albumen quality needs to be ascertained. Such information m a y enhance our knowledge of albumen formation a n d those factors involved in the production of eggs with desirable albumen quality. I t is of interest that vanadium depressed albumen quality b u t h a d no effect on shell formation. This is in contrast to NH4CI which improved albumen quality b u t depressed shell quality (Hall and Helbacka, 1959; H u n t and Aitken, 1962). This would seem to indicate that, in this instance, vanadium is specific in its action on protein formation. This could also be the mode of action of vanadium in depressing chick growth since no other toxic symptoms have been described. Dietary vanadium has been shown to reduce hepatic cholesterol synthesis in r a t s a n d rabbits (Curran, 1954; Curran and Costello, 1956; and M o u n t a i n et al., 1956).
Curran et al. (1959) showed t h a t dietary vanadium decreased serum free and total cholesterol b u t increased serum triglycerides in man. T h a t the action of vanadium in reducing albumen quality is the result of similar biological phenomenon must be questioned however because Miller et al. (1961) have shown t h a t dietary vanadium did not reduce plasma or liver cholesterol in chicks. The decrease in albumen quality as a result of feeding the high vanadium phosphorus supplement in the preliminary experiment was not of the same magnitude for each individual bird. This suggests t h a t vanadium m a y be a possible stress factor which geneticists could use in breeding for improved albumen quality. SUMMARY
Effect of vanadium in the diet on the performance of laying hens has been ascertained b y using a high vanadium phosphorus supplement and by adding ammonium vanadate to provide 0,10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 ppm. vanadium. A level of approximately 30 ppm. dietary vanadium depressed egg production. Hatchability of eggs was depressed a t levels of approximately 50 ppm. Body weight tended to be depressed in a linear nature as level of vanadium in the diet increased. Albumen quality was markedly depressed by dietary vanadium. Significant depression occurred when the diet contained from 15 to 20 p p m . REFERENCES Berg, L. R., 1963. Evidence of vanadium toxicity resulting from the use of certain commercial phosphorus supplements in chick rations. Poultry Sci. 42:766-769. Card, L. E., and H. J. Sloan, 1935. The effect of mineral supplements on interior egg quality. Poultry Sci. 14: 300-301. Curran, G. L., 1954. Effect of certain transition
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
Nelson et al. (1962) and Berg (1963) to be toxic for chick growth. Very few nutritional factors have been shown to affect albumen quality. Sources of and levels of energy and protein have been found to have essentially no effect by Sowell and Morgan (1936), Griminger and Scott (1954), Mueller (1956) a n d Orr et al. (1958). Card and Sloan (1935) found no effect on albumen quality from the addition of sodium silicate, sodium chloride, magnesium oxide or potassium carbonate to the diet. Orr et al. (1958) observed a slight depression in Haugh units when 3nitro, 4 hydroxphenylarsonic acid was added to the diet. Marked improvement in albumen quality when either NH 4 C1 or HC1 was added to the diet was observed by Hall and Helbacka (1959). T h e finding relative to NH4CI was substantiated b y H u n t and Aitken (1962). The results reported here appear to be the first t h a t indicate a dietary factor which will markedly depress albumen quality.
MERRILL
VANADIUM AND LAYING HENS
Nutrition, 75: 367-372. Mountain, J. T., F. R. Stockell and H. E. Stokinger, 1956. Effect of ingested vanadium on cholesterol and phospholipid metabolism in the rabbit. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 92: 582-587. Mueller, W. J., 1956. The influence of energy source, energy-fiber concentration and protein source of the diet on certain egg quality characteristics. Poultry Sci. 35: 1074-1078. Nelson, T. S., M. B. Gillis and H. T. Peeler, 1962. Studies of the effect of vanadium on chick growth. Poultry Sci. 41: 519-522. Orr, H. L., E. S. Snyder and S. J. Slinger, 1958. Effect of animal fat, arsonic acid and range vs. confinement rearing on egg quality. Poultry Sci. 37: 212-214. Romoser, G. L., W. A. Dudley, L. J. Machlin and L. Loveless, 1962. Toxicity of vanadium and chromium for the growing chick. Poultry Sci. 40:11711173. Sowell, D. F., and C. L. Morgan, 1936. The relationship of protein supplement to interior egg quality. Poultry Sci. 15: 219-222.
Dietary Effects on Blood Pressure 1. EFFECTS OF DIETARY CHOLESTEROL AND FAT SOURCES 1 E. L. NICHOLS, 2 J. R. SCHULTZ AND S. L. BALLOUN Department of Poultry Science, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, A mes, Iowa (Received for publication, April 25, 1963)
D
AUBER and Katz (1943) and Sutton et al. (1958) found that dietary cholesterol increased serum cholesterol concentrations in chickens. Anderson et al. (1961) reported that hydrogenated oils in the diets of men resulted in a rise in serum cholesterol concentration. However, Diller et al. (1961) fed hydrogenated and unhydrogenated oils to rats and found no apparent correlation between the degree of unsaturation of the oils and plasma cho1
Journal Paper No. J-4590 of the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Project No. 1062. 2 Present Address: McMillen Feed Research, Central Soya Co., Decatur, Indiana.
lesterol concentrations. Daghir et al. (1960) found that dietary soybean oil caused a significant decrease in serum cholesterol in laying hens while white grease did not significantly increase serum cholesterol concentrations. Daghir and Balloun (1961) reported that rations containing white grease caused higher serum cholesterol concentrations in chicks than did soybean oil rations or the control ration. No attempts were made, however, to relate serum cholesterol to blood pressure. Since it was postulated that an increase in blood cholesterol over a long period of time might result in increased atheroma, further resulting in increased blood pres-
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
group elements on hepatic synthesis of cholesterol in the rat. J. Biol. Chem. 210: 765-770. Curran, G. L., and R. L. Costello, 1956. Reduction of excess cholesterol in the rabbit aorta by inhibition of endogenous cholesterol synthesis. J. Exp. Med. 103:49-56. Curran, G. L., D. L. Azarnoff and R. E. Bolinger, 1959. Effect of cholesterol synthesis inhibition in normocholesteremic young men. J. Clin. Invest. 38: 1251-1261. Duncan, D. B., 1955. Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics, 11: 1-42. Griminger, P., and H. M. Scott, 1954. The effect of different cereals on feed efficiency, egg quality and shell thickness. Poultry Sci. 33: 1217-1219. Hall, K. N., and N. V. Helbacka, 1959. Improving albumen quality. Poultry Sci. 38: 111-114. Hunt, J. R., and J. R. Aitken, 1962. Studies on the influence of ascorbic acid on shell quality. Poultry Sci. 41: 219-226. Miller, E. C , H. Menge and C. A. Denton, 1961. Effect of type of dietary fat on plasma and liver cholesterol concentration in female chicks. J.
1411
TABLE 1.—Percentage composition of rations
F
PROCEDURE
In the preliminary study, 40, approximately 12 months old, strain cross White Leghorn hens were divided into four groups of 10 each. The birds were kept in individual wire cages. Two diets, differing only as to source of tricalcium phosphate, were prepared using the formula of ration 1, Table 1. Each diet was fed to two groups for eight weeks. Haugh units and shell thickness were determined for three eggs laid by each bird prior to the test, and after 2, 4 and 8 weeks of feeding the test rations. The second experiment was conducted to determine the effect of adding graded levels of vanadium from ammonium vanadate to the ration of White Leghorn hens. The basal ration used was ration 2, Table 1. The tricalcium phosphate was the same as indicated as sample 1, Table 2. Sixteen groups of 50-60 hens each were used in
Ration Ingredient l Ground corn Ground milo Ground barley Dehydrated grass Soybean meal, 50% protein Herring fish meal Tricalcium phosphate Limestone flour Salt Tallow dl Methionine
1
22
71.8
— —
3.0 17.6
—
2.0 5.25 .30
—
.05
25.0 22.0 25.0 3.0 8.85 5.00 1.22 7.63 .30 2.00
—
1
Added per lb. of diet: 350 I.C.U. vitamin D 3 , 1,500 I.U. vitamin A, 2 mg. riboflavin, 2 mg. Ca pantothenate, 6 mg. niacin, .004 mg. vitamin B12, 57 mg. ethoxyquin and 57 mg. MnSQi. 2 Added per lb. of diet: 350 I.C.U. vitamin D 3 , 1,500 I.U. vitamin A, 3 mg. riboflavin, 2 mg. Ca pantothenate, 57 mg. ethoxyquin and 57 mg. MnS0 4 .
the study. The birds were of the same hatch as used in the first experiment, but were approximately 15 months old when the test started. The 16 groups were maintained in similar litter-floored pens of one house. Eight rations containing graded levels of added vanadium from 0 to 100 ppm., as shown in Table 3, were each fed to two TABLE 2.—A comparison of the effect of two samples of "feed grade" tricalcium phosphate on albumen quality
1 Scientific paper No. 2349, Washington Agricultural Experinent Stations, Pullman. Project No. 1248.
1407
Phos. sample
Haugl 1 units Group No. Prelim. 2 wks. 4 wks. 8 wks.
1
1 2 Av.
83.5 86.2 84.9
83.6 86.5 85.1
84.1 88.5 86.3
81.6 85.0 83.3
2
3 4 Av.
83.5 i "78.7 83.6 76.5 77.6 83.6
[78.6 77.4 78.0
69.3 71.3 70.3
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
OLLOWING our observations (Berg, 1963) that certain commercial phosphorus supplements contained sufficient vanadium to suppress growth of chicks when added to a corn-soy ration, a preliminary study was made to compare the performance of laying hens fed rations supplemented with "high vanadium" and "low vanadium" phosphate sources. The results of the preliminary test suggested that a more detailed study of the effects of adding varying levels of vanadium to a laying ration should be made.
1408
L. R. B E R G , G. E. B E A R S E AND L. H. TABLE 3.--Effect
of leveI of dietary vanadium on albumen q'ualily Haugh units, date
Ppm. vanadium added 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 100
MERRILL
12/3 a ba a ba b ba b b
1
80.S 77.5 79.5 75.5 73.0 75.0 72.5 72.5
12/11 5
a ab a be c be c c
a ba b b c c c c
79.0 a 78.0 a 75.5 b 76.0 b 71.5c 73.0 c 72.5 c 72.0 c
12/19 a 79.0 a ba76.0ab cb 73.0 be cb 73.0 be c69.5d c70.0cd c69.0d c70.0cd2
1/183
12/27 a ba cb cb dc dc d cba
80.0 75.0 73.5 72.5 68.0 68.5 65.0 74.0
a b b b c c c b
79.5 77.5 77.0 74.0 71.5 71.5 70.5 77.0
2/4 a a ab abc be be c ab
71.0 d4 76.0 ab 75.5 abc 74.0 abed 72.0 cd 73.5 bed 71.Od 77.5a
On vanadium treatments five days before first observation made. Returned to basal diet on December 14. All of remaining vanadium treated pens returned to basal on January 5. 4 Two pens which had received basal continuously were given 40 p.p.m. added vanadium on January 23. AH other pens continued on basal. 5 Values with unlike letters are significantly different from each other. Letters to right and left represent .05 and .01 level of probability, respectively, Duncan (1955). 2 3
groups of birds. H a u g h units and specific gravity of the eggs were first determined on one day's production five days after feeding the test rations started. These observations were subsequently repeated at three eight-day intervals. Groups receiving 100 ppm. of vanadium were returned to the basal diet after 16 days on treatment because of a marked decline in egg production a n d evidence of the beginning of a general molt. After being on the vanadium t r e a t m e n t for 38 days, all other vanadium fed groups were returned to the basal diet and egg quality measurements were taken 13 days post change. The two groups which had been fed the basal diet only were then given the diet with 40 ppm. vanadium added and measurements were again taken 12 days hence. Egg production was determined on a hen day basis for each pen. Average body weight changes were determined by group weighing the pens of birds prior to the test and after four weeks on the test diets. Four males were placed in each pen a t the start of the test. A group of 100 eggs obtained from each pen after the birds had been on the test diets for four weeks was incubated.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
I n the preliminary test no significant differences in rate of lay were obtained with the two phosphorus supplements. The use of phosphorus sample 2, however, resulted in a marked decrease in albumen quality as expressed b y Haugh units (Table 2). Shell thickness was not affected. Phosphorus sample 2 contained approximately 0.25% V2Os and a t the level fed supplied about 28 ppm. vanadium to the diet. T h a t the vanadium of the sample was responsible for the depressed albumen quality is suggested by the results of adding graded levels of vanadium to the basal diet in experiment 2 (Table 3). Although pretreatment Haugh units were not determined, it is felt t h a t the values for the two control pens a t the first observation were representative for all pens prior to t r e a t m e n t since these pens did not change to a n y degree during the approximately four week experimental period. After five days on treatment, added vanadium levels of 30 ppm. and higher resulted in significantly depressed ( P < . 0 5 ) albumen quality. A level of 20 p p m . added vanadium significantly depressed (P < .05)
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
1
1409
VANADIUM AND LAYING HENS TABLE 4.—Effect
of level of dietary vanadium on rate of lay, hatchability and body weight change
Ppm. vanadium added
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 10 20 30 40 SO 60 100
72.1 70.1 71.5 70.5 71.4 70.4 71.1 70.6
70.6 66.9 72.4 70.3 66.7 65.3 66.0 60.9
64.3 67.3 69.9 67.3 62.0 57.6 59.5 32.3
65.4 68.4 67.8 64.8 58.5 55.6 55.5 19.5 1
59.7 64.4 64.7 60.8 57.6 53.5 49.8 27.1
60.5 63.5 63.6 59.5 57.0 52.8 47.1 37.5
62.3 61.8 62.3 58.2 56.2 54.0 48.2 41.2
% hatch fertile2 eggs
Percent lay, test week
a5 ab a be cd d e
83.9 83.3 79.2 83.4 76.5 76.3 74.3 4
a a ab a b b b
Lbs. change 3 body wt. 0.00 -0.05 -0.05 -0.10 -0.12 -0.09 -0.19 -0.27
Haugh units after 13 days and after 29 days on treatment, the addition of 10 ppm. of vanadium resulted in a similar depression. After 29 days on treatment 60 ppm. of added vanadium had depressed albumen quality by 15 Haugh units (80 vs. 65). Removal of the vanadium from the diet resulted in improvement in albumen quality, but those groups which had been fed 40, 50 and 60 ppm. for 38 days did not return to normal in one month following removal from the feed. Feeding the control pens 40 ppm. added vanadium for 12 days depressed Haugh units from 79.5 to 71.0. Egg production was immediately depressed by 100 ppm. of added vanadium (Table 4). After three weeks on this level, production was down to less than 20% and molt had started. Removal of the vanadium from the feed resulted in an increase in production although it did not return to normal in three weeks. The data indicate that rate of lay was not affected by as much as 20 ppm. of added vanadium but was depressed linearly by 30, 40, 50 and 60 ppm. after 6 weeks on the test diets. Hatchability of fertile eggs decreased with added levels of 40 ppm. and higher,
being decreased from 84 to 74% with 60 ppm. (Table 4). Gross examination of the embryos that failed to hatch revealed no characteristic abnormalities. Whereas the control birds lost no weight during the first four weeks of the test, increasing levels of vanadium in the diet tended to result in increased loss of body weight (Table 4). Egg weight and specific gravity of eggs were not affected by vanadium supplementation of the feed. The results of these experiments show that vanadium is toxic for the hen and that vanadium content should be a factor when considering an ingredient for the ration of laying hens. This would appear to be particularly true of phosphorus supplements. Since basal rations of the type used in these tests have been shown to contain from 5 to 7 ppm. of vanadium (Nelson et al., 1962; Berg, 1963) it would appear that the toxic level for the suppression of oviposition was from 30 to 40 ppm. The amount which will depress albumen quality, however, appears to be approximately 15 to 20 ppm. These values are in the range of the 13 to 30 ppm. levels which have been shown by Romoser et al. (1961),
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
Returned to basal diet during third week. Not considered in statistical treatment of sixth week production. 2 Egg laid after four weeks on test diets. 3 After four weeks on test diets. 4 Insufficient eggs laid to obtain satisfactory sample. 'Values with unlike letters are significantly different from each other, P < . 0 5 .
1410
L. R. B E R G , G. E . B E A R S E AND L. H.
T h e mode of action of vanadium in depressing albumen quality needs to be ascertained. Such information m a y enhance our knowledge of albumen formation a n d those factors involved in the production of eggs with desirable albumen quality. I t is of interest that vanadium depressed albumen quality b u t h a d no effect on shell formation. This is in contrast to NH4CI which improved albumen quality b u t depressed shell quality (Hall and Helbacka, 1959; H u n t and Aitken, 1962). This would seem to indicate that, in this instance, vanadium is specific in its action on protein formation. This could also be the mode of action of vanadium in depressing chick growth since no other toxic symptoms have been described. Dietary vanadium has been shown to reduce hepatic cholesterol synthesis in r a t s a n d rabbits (Curran, 1954; Curran and Costello, 1956; and M o u n t a i n et al., 1956).
Curran et al. (1959) showed t h a t dietary vanadium decreased serum free and total cholesterol b u t increased serum triglycerides in man. T h a t the action of vanadium in reducing albumen quality is the result of similar biological phenomenon must be questioned however because Miller et al. (1961) have shown t h a t dietary vanadium did not reduce plasma or liver cholesterol in chicks. The decrease in albumen quality as a result of feeding the high vanadium phosphorus supplement in the preliminary experiment was not of the same magnitude for each individual bird. This suggests t h a t vanadium m a y be a possible stress factor which geneticists could use in breeding for improved albumen quality. SUMMARY
Effect of vanadium in the diet on the performance of laying hens has been ascertained b y using a high vanadium phosphorus supplement and by adding ammonium vanadate to provide 0,10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 ppm. vanadium. A level of approximately 30 ppm. dietary vanadium depressed egg production. Hatchability of eggs was depressed a t levels of approximately 50 ppm. Body weight tended to be depressed in a linear nature as level of vanadium in the diet increased. Albumen quality was markedly depressed by dietary vanadium. Significant depression occurred when the diet contained from 15 to 20 p p m . REFERENCES Berg, L. R., 1963. Evidence of vanadium toxicity resulting from the use of certain commercial phosphorus supplements in chick rations. Poultry Sci. 42:766-769. Card, L. E., and H. J. Sloan, 1935. The effect of mineral supplements on interior egg quality. Poultry Sci. 14: 300-301. Curran, G. L., 1954. Effect of certain transition
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Emory University Libraries on April 19, 2015
Nelson et al. (1962) and Berg (1963) to be toxic for chick growth. Very few nutritional factors have been shown to affect albumen quality. Sources of and levels of energy and protein have been found to have essentially no effect by Sowell and Morgan (1936), Griminger and Scott (1954), Mueller (1956) a n d Orr et al. (1958). Card and Sloan (1935) found no effect on albumen quality from the addition of sodium silicate, sodium chloride, magnesium oxide or potassium carbonate to the diet. Orr et al. (1958) observed a slight depression in Haugh units when 3nitro, 4 hydroxphenylarsonic acid was added to the diet. Marked improvement in albumen quality when either NH 4 C1 or HC1 was added to the diet was observed by Hall and Helbacka (1959). T h e finding relative to NH4CI was substantiated b y H u n t and Aitken (1962). The results reported here appear to be the first t h a t indicate a dietary factor which will markedly depress albumen quality.
MERRILL
VANADIUM AND LAYING HENS
Nutrition, 75: 367-372. Mountain, J. T., F. R. Stockell and H. E. Stokinger, 1956. Effect of ingested vanadium on cholesterol and phospholipid metabolism in the rabbit. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 92: 582-587. Mueller, W. J., 1956. The influence of energy source, energy-fiber concentration and protein source of the diet on certain egg quality characteristics. Poultry Sci. 35: 1074-1078. Nelson, T. S., M. B. Gillis and H. T. Peeler, 1962. Studies of the effect of vanadium on chick growth. Poultry Sci. 41: 519-522. Orr, H. L., E. S. Snyder and S. J. Slinger, 1958. Effect of animal fat, arsonic acid and range vs. confinement rearing on egg quality. Poultry Sci. 37: 212-214. Romoser, G. L., W. A. Dudley, L. J. Machlin and L. Loveless, 1962. Toxicity of vanadium and chromium for the growing chick. Poultry Sci. 40:11711173. Sowell, D. F., and C. L. Morgan, 1936. The relationship of protein supplement to interior egg quality. Poultry Sci. 15: 219-222.
Dietary Effects on Blood Pressure 1. EFFECTS OF DIETARY CHOLESTEROL AND FAT SOURCES 1 E. L. NICHOLS, 2 J. R. SCHULTZ AND S. L. BALLOUN Department of Poultry Science, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, A mes, Iowa (Received for publication, April 25, 1963)
D
AUBER and Katz (1943) and Sutton et al. (1958) found that dietary cholesterol increased serum cholesterol concentrations in chickens. Anderson et al. (1961) reported that hydrogenated oils in the diets of men resulted in a rise in serum cholesterol concentration. However, Diller et al. (1961) fed hydrogenated and unhydrogenated oils to rats and found no apparent correlation between the degree of unsaturation of the oils and plasma cho1
Journal Paper No. J-4590 of the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Project No. 1062. 2 Present Address: McMillen Feed Research, Central Soya Co., Decatur, Indiana.
lesterol concentrations. Daghir et al. (1960) found that dietary soybean oil caused a significant decrease in serum cholesterol in laying hens while white grease did not significantly increase serum cholesterol concentrations. Daghir and Balloun (1961) reported that rations containing white grease caused higher serum cholesterol concentrations in chicks than did soybean oil rations or the control ration. No attempts were made, however, to relate serum cholesterol to blood pressure. Since it was postulated that an increase in blood cholesterol over a long period of time might result in increased atheroma, further resulting in increased blood pres-
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group elements on hepatic synthesis of cholesterol in the rat. J. Biol. Chem. 210: 765-770. Curran, G. L., and R. L. Costello, 1956. Reduction of excess cholesterol in the rabbit aorta by inhibition of endogenous cholesterol synthesis. J. Exp. Med. 103:49-56. Curran, G. L., D. L. Azarnoff and R. E. Bolinger, 1959. Effect of cholesterol synthesis inhibition in normocholesteremic young men. J. Clin. Invest. 38: 1251-1261. Duncan, D. B., 1955. Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics, 11: 1-42. Griminger, P., and H. M. Scott, 1954. The effect of different cereals on feed efficiency, egg quality and shell thickness. Poultry Sci. 33: 1217-1219. Hall, K. N., and N. V. Helbacka, 1959. Improving albumen quality. Poultry Sci. 38: 111-114. Hunt, J. R., and J. R. Aitken, 1962. Studies on the influence of ascorbic acid on shell quality. Poultry Sci. 41: 219-226. Miller, E. C , H. Menge and C. A. Denton, 1961. Effect of type of dietary fat on plasma and liver cholesterol concentration in female chicks. J.
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