The Deposition of Linolenic Acid in Chickens Fed Linseed Oil

IN A previous study (Hite, Kloxin and Kummerow 1948) it was shown that linolenic acid was readily deposited in the skin tissue of turkeys. The skin fat extracted from birds which had been supplemented with 1% linseed oil contained as much as 4% linolenic acid. This seemed to indicate that the latter gradually accumulated in the skin tissue. These birds had been normal in appearance and had gained as much weight as the control group. However, chickens which had been supplemented with 25% linseed oil did not gain as much weight nor were they as good in appearance as the birds which had not received this oil (Kummerow, Weaver and Honstead, 1949). The latter studies also indicated that ethanolamine or choline seemed to be functional in the metabolism of linseed oil as birds supplemented with these factors gained weight and showed an improvement in appearance. In the present study the . . .