LIVER AND BLOOD GLUTATHIONE IN MALE BROILER-CHICKENS, TURKEYS, AND QUAIL

The objective of the present study was to establish age relationships for hepatic and whole blood glutathione (GSH) in male broiler chickens , quail, and turkeys utilizing lines within each poultry species with different rates of growth. Liver and blood samples were obtained from three quail lines (light, medium, and heavy) at 3 and 6 wk of age, fro m two turkey lines (light and heavy) at 10 and 20 wk of age, and two b roiler lines (medium and heavy) at 3, 5, and 7 wk of age. With the exc eption of the heavy turkey line, older birds generally exhibited highe r hepatic GSH concentrations than younger birds. There was no apparent age-related difference in whole blood GSH, nor was whole blood GSH co rrelated with hepatic GSH in any poultry species.