Factors Affecting the Accumulation of Amino Acid by the Chick Intestine

STUDIES on intestinal absorption of amino acid by the chicken have been carried out by several groups of workers in recent years (Paine et al., 1959; Tasaki et al., 1966; Fearon and Bird, 1967). Most of them have dealt with specific transport mechanisms which are found in mammals, and increasing interest is being shown in differences from mammals. The present investigation was undertaken to clear the effect of physiological conditions such as stage of growth and sex on amino acid uptake by the intestine. METHODS Pilch chicks fed on a commercial diet, were used in the experiments. The rate of amino acid transport was determined by the method of Agar et al. (1954) which estimates amino acids accumulated in intestinal segments in vitro. The animals were starved for about 20 hours before sacrifice to reduce the solid matter in the intestine. Immediately after the sacrifice by decapitation the abdomen of…