The Effect of Phytin on the Phosphorus Requirement of the Chick

Abstract

THE phosphorus supplied in poultry rations by cereals, cereal by-products, soybeans, and other plant materials is largely in the form of phytic acid and its salts, collectively termed phytin. The utilization of this organically bound form of phosphorus is a question of considerable practical importance since phosphorus is one of the elements most likely to be deficient in unsupplemented rations. In some instances phytin is relied upon to supply a large portion of the total phosphorus requirement of chickens, although the weight of evidence indicates that it is less readily utilized than inorganic phosphates. Lowe, Steenbock, and Krieger (1939) supplemented a low phosphorus basal chick diet with phytin isolated from wheat bran and obtained no increase in calcification. These results were obtained, however, in the absence of supplementary vitamin D or in the presence of suboptimum amounts of this factor. Heuser, Norris, McGinnis, and Scott (1943) presented evidence that growth . . .