Effect of Histamine, Histidine, and Some Related Compounds on the Zinc-Deficient Chick.

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Abstract
Three experiments were conducted to test the effects of dietary additions of various amounts of histidine, histamine and certain related compounds upon the zinc deficiency syndrome in chicks fed a diet containing isolated soybean protein. The diets were fed for 4 weeks after hatching. Particular attention was directed to the effects of the various dietary factors upon the "arthritis-like" or "perosis-like" leg abnormality (swollen hocks, joint stiffness). Histidine at 1.0% and 2.0% of the diet, or histamine at 0.2% of the diet prevented the "arthritis-like" syndrome while having little or no effect on other symptoms of Zn deficiency such as poor growth or low Zn content of the tibias. Other histidine metabolites and related compounds such as urocanic acid, B-imidazole acetic acid, imidazole, and thiolhistidine had no significant effect on the Zn-deficient chick. It appears that there is a Zn-histidine-histamine interrelationship and that the relationship between histidine and histamine may be directly the result of histidine being converted into histamine. It is postulated that histamine may be an important alleviator of some arthritic syndromes.