Effects of Nitrate and Nitrite in the Drinking Water on Chicks, Poults and Laying Hens

THE effect of high levels of dietary nitrate and nitrite on various mammalian species has been the subject of numerous investigations. In several of these studies dietary nitrate and nitrite have been reported to depress growth in swine, Tollet et al. (1960); rats, Smith et al. (1961); and cattle, Weichenthal et al. (1963). On the other hand, Seerley et al. (1965) found that drinking water containing up to 100 p.p.m. sodium nitrite nitrogen and 300 p.p.m. of sodium nitrate nitrogen had no significant effect on the performance of growing and finishing swine. They also found in these same studies that 1000 p.p.m. sodium nitrate nitrogen had no effect on the daily gain of fattening lambs. Interference with normal vitamin A metabolism by either nitrate or nitrite has been reported with cattle, Muhrer et al. (1955); rats, Emerick and Olson (1962); and sheep, Goodrich et al. (1964). Several workers, among …