Effect of Zinc on Bone Alkaline Phosphatase in Turkey Poults

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Abstract
Turkey poults were maintained for 17 days with a purified diet containing isolated soybean protein, supplemented with varying levels of zinc. Poults receiving diets containing less than 60 ppm of added zinc developed deficiency symptoms, including a severe reduction in growth, shortening and thickening of the long bones, and poor feathering. Alkaline phosphatase activity was severely reduced in the tibia of zinc-deficient poults. A correlation of 0.99 was found between enzyme activity and the level of dietary zinc. Bones from normal birds had highest alkaline phosphatase activity in the epiphyseal sections, whereas the diaphyseal section of the zinc-deficient bones contained highest activity. Tibias from poults fed varying levels of dietary zinc showed no significant differences in bone ash.