Response of Anemic Chicks to Peteroylglutamic Acid.

Abstract

Chicks reared to 4 wks. of age on a purified diet containing about 2 [gamma] of free and about 3 [gamma] of conjugated pteroylglutamic acid/ 100 g. of diet and whose Hb levels showed a severe stage of anemia responded dramatically to this vit. Intramusc. injns. of pteroylglutamic acid produced a reticulocyte peak 4-6 days after injn., with the peak in Hb reached 9 days after injn. In a 2d expt., suboptimum amts. of pteroylglutamic acid in similar chicks were approx. twice as effective when injected intramusc. as when administered orally, when measured by the Hb increase in 7 days. Chicks receiving 486 [gamma] of pteroylglutamic acid in their feed during a 7-day period showed a Hb response similar to that produced by a single injn. of 40 [gamma] of the vit. The reticulocytosis in anemic chicks reached a peak 4-6 days following admn. of folic acid and often reached 90% reticulocytes for individual chicks. Pteroylglutamic acid has been shown to stimulate reticulocytosis in the chick as has been reported for man and the monkey.