Studies on folic acid nutrition in chicks and poults

Synopsis

Experiments were undertaken to explain recent field cases of a folic acid deficiency among poultry in the United States and to determine whether folic acid supplementation of practical poultry rations, as advocated by some (Bechtel, 1964), was necessary. Assays for folic acid using the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (A.O.A.C., 1960) method, which measures only the “ free “ folic acid, showed that many poultry rations had sub‐optimal amounts of folic acid (Bechtel, 1964). However, results of assays for folic acid using a modified A.O.A.C. (1955) method showed that the folic acid in most of the common foodstuffs for poultry is present largely in “ bound “ or “ conjugated “ form and hence not detected using the 1960 A.O.A.C. method. It was subsequently found that the “ bound “ or “ conjugated “ folic acid in brewers’ dried yeast was fully utilised by the young chick and poult whether or not the dietary regimes of ascorbic acid supplementation, vitamin E or manganese deficiency were superimposed.

Notes

Present address: Petfood‐Development Section, Spiller's Technological Research Station, Cambridge. E 65