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Biomedical subjects

M E Coates

Publications and source records attributed to M E Coates.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

The effects on chicks of dietary fibre from different sources: a growth factor in wheat bran.

1. Groups of chicks were given a low-residue diet with or without supplements of dietary fibre in the form of wheat bran, wheat straw or bagasse. Growth and food conversion efficiency (g weight gained/g food eaten; FCE) during the first 4 weeks of life were measured. 2. In every one of seven experiments supplementation of the diet with 100 g wheat bran/kg resulted in improved growth, and in three experiments FCE was also increased. 3. Supplementation with coarsely-milled wheat straw to provide an amount of unavailable carbohydrate equivalent to that in the bran diet resulted in poorer growth; finely-milled wheat straw had little effect on growth. 4. The growth-promoting effect of bran was destroyed by sterilization with heat or gamma-radiation. 5. In some experiments weights, lengths and volumes of small intestines were measured. Differences in intestinal dimensions between birds given the diet with and without fibre were not consistent, nor were they correlated with growth rate or FCE. 6. Histometric observations on small intestines from a few birds indicated that those given coarse wheat straw had longer vili and thicker muscularis layers, and the caecal tonsils had a greater area of lymphoid tissue and more follicles.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Effects on germ-free and conventional quail of substituting isolated soya protein for free amino acids in a purified diet.

1. Germ-free and conventional Japanese quail reared on a diet in which the nitrogen was supplied solely in the form of free amino acids grew well, but growth was significantly better in both environments when some of the amino acids were replaced by an equivalent quantity of isolated soya protein. 2. Although the small intestine was shorter in the birds given the soya protein supplement, its weight per unit of length was greater; histological examination suggested that its circumference and wall thickness were both increased. 3. Results of a small experiment with conventional quail given the diets marked with 14C-polyethylene glycol indicated that the free amino acid diet passed through the gut more rapidly than the supplemented diet. 4. It was concluded that the growth-promoting effect of the isolated soya protein was unrelated to the activities of the gut microflora but might be due to changes in the digestive and absorptive capacities of the small intestine induced by the different physical nature of the supplemented diet.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1976

The role of the gut microflora in the utilization of dietary urea by the chick.

1. In a preliminary experiment, growth of conventional chicks given a basal diet containing adequate amounts of all the essential but none of the non-essential amino acids was improved by supplements of 10-3 g urea or 50-4 g glutamic acid/kg diet or both. 2. In the main study the effects of supplementing the basal diet with 20-6 g urea/kg were compared in groups of sixteen germ-free and conventional chicks. 3. The germ-free chicks did not benefit from the urea supplement whereas the conventional birds showed improved food conversion efficiency and significantly better growth. 4. In both environments nitrogen retention ((mg N intake-mg N excreted)divideg food intake) was higher in the birds given urea, but N utilization ((mg N intake-mg N excreted)dividemg N intake) was reduced. This reduction was greater in the germ-free birds. 5. There was a small increase in plasma ammonia concentration in the germ-free birds given urea but a significantly greater increase in the corresponding conventional group. 6. Plasma uric acid concentrations were variable in both groups, and much lower than the normal range. They followed a similar pattern to the plasma ammonia values. 7. More insoluble N was excreted by the conventional chicks given urea than by the corresponding germ-free group, or by either group given the basal diet. 8. It was concluded that the gut micro-organisms are responsible for the growth-promoting effect of urea, presumably through release of ammonia by bacterial ureas (EC 3.5.1.5) and its consequent incorporation into amino acids.

Amino Acids, Essential↗
PubMed1976

Measurement of digestible and metabolizable energy of diets for rats.

A balance method for the measurement of digestible and metabolizable energy in rats is described. Experimentally determined metabolizable energies of 2 diets for rats were closer to those values for metabolizable energy calculated from tabulated values for pigs rather than chickens. Some drawbacks in the use of tables of energy values to predict the energy of diets are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Dietary aureomycin and the response of the fowl to stressors.

1. Conventional or gnotobiotic chicks, when injected from 1 d to 3 weeks of age with adrenocorticotrophic hormone (120IU/kg, three times weekly), showed a depressed growth rate, adrenal hypertrophy and depletion of cholesterol form the adrenal glands. 2. Feeding a diet supplemented with aureomycin (10 mg/kg) did not have any consistent ameliorating effect on the response of the stressed bird as judged by the above parameters. 3. It was found that treating germfree chicks with five daily injections of sterile milk on days 3 to 7 did not depress growth rate at any time, nor could differences in adrenal size or cholesterol stores be detected at the end of the 21-d experimental period. The responses were not modified by feeding an aureomycin-supplemented diet.

Administration, Oral↗