Abstract
Summary
1. Significant correlations were obtained between successive reduced glutathione (GSH) determinations on the same birds. This was true in both males and females and indicated a high degree of constancy for the GSH level in individual chickens. 2. The blood level of GSH was determined in 162 mature males of 3 age groups from 3 inbred lines of White Leghorns. Age was not a significant factor, but one line had a highly significantly lower GSH level than the other 2 lines. Differences between the GSH levels in females from all 3 inbred lines were highly significant statistically. 3. Females of the 3 inbred lines had much lower GSH levels than the males. However, hemoglobin content and red cell volume of females were also much lower. Since the source of GSH is almost wholly the red cells, the difference in GSH level between males and females within a line could be attributed to relative numbers of red cells present in the sexes. Line differences in males and females appear to result from different concentrations of GSH within the red cell. The data provide evidence that the GSH concentration within the erythrocytes of mature chickens is to a very large extent genetically controlled.
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