Effects of Two Sulfonamides on the Formation of Egg Shells

MANN and Keilin (1940) reported sulfanilamide (p-aminobenzenesulfonamide) to be a very powerful inhibitor of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase. Since then, several reports have appeared in the literature describing the inhibitory effects of certain sulfonamides on the formation of egg shells. Hinshaw and McNeil (1943) found that a single dose of sulfanilamide, 0.5 grain (32.4 mg.) per pound of live weight, caused turkeys to lay eggs with very thin shells or eggs without shells the next day. When they fed 1.5 and 2.5 grains (97.2 and 162.0 mg.) of sulfanilamide per pound of live weight to Leghorn hens, the same result was produced. This inhibitory action of small dosages of sulfanilamide on the secretion of shell material was confirmed by Benesch, Barron and Mawson (1944), Scott, Jungherr and Matterson (1944), Gutowska and Mitchell (1945), and Tyler (1950). Bernard and Genest (1945) reported that of several sulfonamides tried the unsubstituted types such …