The effects of coprophagy in rats deprived of the vitamin B complex

Abstract

A quanr titative method for controlling the degree of coprophagy in rats by collecting, drying and feeding the feces, is described. Vitamin-B-deficient rats when given their feces lived longer and often grew when not less than 70% of the feces were consumed. The dry weight of the feces excreted during coprophagy was markedly increased when compared with that of animals on the same diet with coprophagy prevented. The beneficial effect of coprophagy in rats deprived of the vitamin B complex was not decreased by sterilized feces and the exact role of coprophagy is not clear. There is no connection between it and refection.