DIET IN RELATION TO REPRODUCTION AND REARING OF YOUNG

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Abstract
Reproduction and rearing of young occur on diets containing Fleischmann''s yeast and Harris'' yeast as the sole source of vitamin B, and butter fat as the source of fat soluble vitamins with all other factors recognized as essential for normal growth included in the diets. The mortality of the young before weaning on these diets is high, although rats have been carried through the 6th generation on Fleischmann''s yeast and through the 3rd on Harris'' yeast. The number of litters born (on the synthetic diets employed) is limited, whereas on mixtures of naturally occurring food materials rats are much more prolific. Why the synthetic diets did not give normal results is not known. Toxicity and insufficiency of known dietary factors must be excluded before vitamin E can be said to exist. Rats tolerate a high fat diet when butter fat is used, but they do not reproduce on high lard diets even though the amount of vitamin A added as butter fat is sufficient for normal growth and reproduction. It appears that there is a destruction of vitamin A since xeroph-thalmia has occurred in rats receiving lard diets containing 5% of butter fat as the only source of fat soluble vitamins. The data in this paper show that the existence of vitamin E has not been definitely proved.

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