Investigations on metabolic alterations in laying hens following amino acid administration.

Ketogenic amino acids L-leucine and L-isoleucine were administered in amounts of 100 mg with or without 1.5 g glucose to overnight fasting laying hens. On administering leucine the blood glucose level was observed to be slightly reduced while administration of isolencine increased the blood sugar. On injecting leucine or isoleucine with glucose blood glucose level was found to be appreciably higher as compared to that observed on administering glucose alone. In vivo administration of amino acids caused only a slight increase in plasma alpha-amino nitrogen. The liver glycogen was found to be reduced after the administration of amino acids. these observations indicate that amino acids leucine and isoleucine exercise a definite role on glucose uptake, and its mechanism of utilization in poultry birds is different from mammals.

Alterations of some chemical constituents in blood and liver of jowar fed chicks.

The affect of feeding jowar (Sorghum vulgare) was investigated in day old chicks for the periods of 10 and 30 days. Similar chicks serving as controls were fed on Hindlever Poultry feed. The jowar fed chicks showed marked reduction in growth, poor development of comb and feathers, and symptoms of nicotinic acid deficiency. Biochemical investigations showed that plasma alpha-amino nitrogen was significantly reduced in jowar fed groups, indicating the deficiency of utilisable proteins in these chicks. The blood sugar levels in chicks fed on jowar for 10 and 30 days were significantly higher as compared to the respective controls. Liver glycogen in 10 days jowar fed chicks was significantly greater than in the control group. These observations have been explained to be due to reduced utilization of glucose through glycolysis.