Chemical and Microscopic Nature of Pancreata from Chicks Fed Unhealed Soybean Meal ∗

Abstract

Summary

When chicks were fed diets containing 25% protein, those which had been fed unheated soybean meal developed pancreata which were much larger than pancreata from chicks which had been fed heated soybean meal. Histological examination did not indicate any variance between pancreata from either of the two treatments. The DNA, RNA, and protein levels, per unit weight, were not different whether unheated or autoclaved soybean meal was the source of protein in the diets. In addition, the moisture level in pancreata from both treatments was identical. These data indicate that the pancreas enlargement caused by feeding raw soybean meal is a result of hyperplastic rather than hypertrophic changes.