Manganese Deficiency in the Guinea Pig

Abstract

A pelleted synthetic diet with and without manganese has been fed to young female guinea pigs and continued throughout the growth period and one, two or three gestation periods. The synthetic diet including manganese supported growth and reproduction equal to that observed for good stock diets. When manganese was omitted from the maternal diet, litter size was reduced, a high percentage of the young were born dead or delivered prematurely. One hundred per cent of the living young born to deficient females showed ataxic symptoms at birth. A small number of defective young have now been maintained on the manganese-deficient diet for three months and abnormal head movements and unsteadiness of gait have persisted.