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The Origin and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism. 

 Part XL — The Cholesterol Content of Growing Chickens 

 under Different Diets. 



By J. A. Gardner and P. E. Lander, Lindley Student of the University 



of London. 



(Communicated by Dr. A. D. Waller, F.R.S. Received September 30, — 

 Read November 20, 1913.) 



(From the Physiological Laboratory of the University of London.) 



In previous papers of this series evidence has been brought forward 

 showing that cholesterol is a substance which is strictly conserved in the 

 animal organism, and that waste of cholesterol can be made up from the 

 food taken by the animal. "Whether cholesterol can, to any extent, be 

 synthesised in the organism from proteins, fats or carbohydrate?, it is difficult 

 to ascertain. It seemed likely that evidence on this point might be obtained 

 by comparing the cholesterol content of eggs and newly hatched chickens, 

 by studying the change of the cholesterol content with growth, and also by 

 ascertaining whether chickens could be reared and would thrive on food 

 deprived of its cholesterol and phytosterol. Parke * as long ago as 1867, 

 found that the quantity of matter which could be extracted by both ether 

 and alcohol from the yolk of hen's eggs diminished during incubation, and 

 he stated that cholesterol changes similarly. In 1908, L. B. Mendel and 

 Leavenwortht published the results of some experiments to determine 

 whether cholesterol is produced during the development of the eggs, and 

 found that no increase took place, but that the cholesterol appeared to 

 decrease, in part, in company with the rest of the lipoid substances. In 

 Part IV of this series Ellis and Gardner* concluded from a large number of 

 analyses of eggs and chickens that in the differentiation of the ovum into 

 the complex aggregates of cells constituting the chicken no formation of 

 cholesterol takes place. "Whether the cholesterol of the egg remained 

 unchanged or whether some loss occurred could not be definitely decided. 

 In this paper we give an account of our experiments on the growth of 

 chickens under various diets, and comparisons of the cholesterol and 



* Parke, ' Hoppe-Seyler's Medizinisch-chemische Untersuchungen,' 1867, p. 211 ; for 

 lecithin, cf. Mesernitzky, ' Biochemische Centralblatt,' 1907, vol. 6, p. 784. 



t Mendel and Leavenworth, ' Ainer. Journ. Physiol.,' 1908, vol. 21, pp. 82-84. 

 1 Ellis and Gardner, ' Eoy. Soc. Proa,' 1909, B, vol. 81, pp. 129-132. 



