Abstract
Choline deficiency has major consequences that include hepatic disorders like fat infiltration and impaired lipoprotein metabolism. The objectives of this study were two-fold. Do estrogen treatments promote choline deficiency by increasing the rate of lipogenesis through choline-dependent pathways? Do menhaden oil treatments counteract the effects of estrogen to prevent the development of choline deficiencies? Nine hundred fertile eggs were subjected to either 17P estradiol or a corn oil vehicle. After hatching, sex was determined and bird were wingbanded. Chicks were fed a typical grower ration with an animal-vegetable blend or menhaden oil for three weeks. At three weeks of age, chicks were injected with either 17P estradiol or a corn oil and killed seventy-two hours later. Samples were taken for phospholipid (PL), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), triglycerides (TG), lipoproteins, and CTP:choline phosphate cytidylyltransferase (CT) enzyme activity. Results showed no significant differences in gender. No definitive choline deficiency was established. PC levels were not decreased. Microsomal CT activity was not increased as seen in a choline deficiency. Estrogen injections resulted in increased PL biosynthesis. This study also suggests that estrogen causes an immediate short term rise in TG and lipoprotein biosynthesis. When paired with in vivo estrogen, menhaden oil diets decrease very low lipoprotein production. Otherwise, menhaden oil did not counteract the effects of estrogen.
Madden, Deborah Marie (1995). The effects of estrogen and menhaden oil treatments on choline levels in the young chicken. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1995 -THESIS -M3393.