DIETARY CARBOHYDRATE EFFECTS ON SOME PLASMA ORGANIC-ACIDS AND ASPECTSOF GLUCOSE-METABOLISM IN TURKEY POULTS

The effects on newly-hatched turkey poults of feeding diets with varyi ng levels of carbohydrate and of oral gavage with suspensions of corn starch were studied. Feeding lowered hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase act ivity and raised blood glucose and hepatic glycogen concentrations. In Nicholas strain turkeys, increases of dietary levels of carbohydrate enhanced hepatic glycogen: stores without affecting blood glucose conc entration or glucose-6-phosphatase activity. Oral gavage of poults wit h suspensions of corn starch in water raised blood glucose and hepatic glycogen concentrations and lowered glucose-6-phosphatase activity in dose- and time-dependent manners. Changes were noted at 1 hr post-gav age. Oral gavage with starch lowered lactate concentrations in muscle and plasma and lowered plasma concentrations of beta-hydroxybutyrate a nd urate. Plasma concentrations of pyruvate appeared to decline with p ost-hatch holding without feed. Thus, the apparent effect of starch ga vage on plasma pyruvate (high concentration) is dependent upon the len gth of the holding period for the controls. The data show that poults can alter their metabolism (decrease lipid oxidation and gluconeogenes is and increase carbohydrate stores) almost immediately (1 hr) after o ral administration of carbohydrate.