The Role of Carotenols in Growth and Reproduction in the Fowl

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

INTRODUCTION DURING the study of the metabolism of the carotenoid pigments in the fowl (Peterson, Hughes and Payne, 1939) the influence of carotenols on growth and reproduction was observed. The results obtained were in agreement with those reported by Palmer and Kempster (1919), Karrer, Schopp and Morf (1932), and Kline, Schultze and Hart (1932), showing that carotenols possess no vitamin A activity. This is the view generally accepted although there are reports in the literature indicating that there might be some vitamin A activity in the carotenol fraction. During the metabolism studies mentioned above, Single Comb White Leghorn chicks hatched from eggs laid by hens fed a carotenoid-free diet (Table 1) were used to determine whether or not carotenols possessed vitamin A activity. By the use of these hens the results were protected against influence by a store of carotenols in the eggs from which the chicks hatched. Approximately 150 . . .