Abstract
Summary
The effect of mild vitamin A deficiency on kinetic parameters associated with the body water pool was studied in five-month-old pullets by isotope dilution techniques, using tritium-labeled water.
The body water T 1/2 was significantly shorter (p < 0.01) and the flux through the body water pool greatly increased (p < 0.01) in the A-deficient chicks indicating that even under mild vitamin A deficiency, water turnover rates are significantly altered. These changes appear to be due to alterations in the stability and permeability of the cells involved in water transport in the A-deficient chicken, through mechanisms yet to be elucidated.
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