Effect of dietary Lunaria oil on chick growth and organ lipid content.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of feeding Lunaria oil to chicks. A deit containing Lunaria oil produced poorer growth and lower feed conversion than one containing corn oil. White Plymouth Rock chicks had apparent digestibility values of 89.9% and 55.8% for corn and Lunaria oil, respectively. Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of heart, liver, and body cavity lipids (fat) showed that more erucic and nervonic acids accumulated in the fat of the birds fed Lunaria oil than in the fat of those fed corn oil.

Measurement of the bioavailability of iron, using the rat hemoglobin repletion test.

Variations in the AOAC official first action rat hemoglobin repletion test for iron were studied. These changes included (1) use of a simplified basal diet to eliminate ingredients which sometimes contribute too much iron; (2) increased fortification of the basal diet with vitamin E, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine; (3) increased dietary copper; (4) variations in the carbohydrate source in the basal diet; (5) changes in the length of the depletion and repletion periods; and (6) comparison of prophylactic and curative procedures. The changes yielded results comparable to those obtained with the present official method. Further study may reveal that the depletion period can be shortened or eliminated. To fully meet the rat's vitamin requirements, increased levels of vitamin E, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine are recommended. It is further recommended that the present method remain in official first action status, and that study be continued.

Relationship between the biological availability and solubility rate of reduced iron.

Solubility rate determinations were conducted on electrolytic iron and hydrogen reduced iron and carbonyl iron samples to study the correlation of biological availability and solubility. There was excellent correlation for the hydrogen reduced iron and electrolytic iron samples,. The carbonyl iron samples showed a direct relationship between solubility and bioavailability, but these data were not numerically equivalent to data from other types.

Estimation of the bioavailability of iron.

Eight laboratories conducted a test for the estimation of the bioavailability of iron from 4 sources, using depleted male albino rats. Ferrous sulfate was used as the reference standard. Ferric orthophosphate was found to have a relative biological value of 11 (range 6-22), an old sample of hydrogen-reduced iron 27 (range 15-41), and ferric citrate 96 (range 75-125). Good results were obtained with a simplified basal diet prepared without ingredients that had previously contributed variable quantities of iron. There was no apparent advantage in using the change in hemoglobin during the repletion period instead of the final homoglobin value as the criterion of response to iron supplements. Several statistical treatments of the data yielded similar conclusions regarding relative biological values of the iron sources.