Resorption and distribution of orally introduced 54Mn as dependent on the dietary stable manganese and the chicken age

Resorption and distribution of orally introduced 54Mn (40 μCi/kg liveweight) in the organism of chickens aged 2, 4 and 8 weeks were followed up against the background of the same basic ration but of varying Mn content (optimal - 62.10; low - 24.00; high - 206.60 mg/kg). The birds were killed 3 and 24 hrs post isotope treatment. 54Mn resorption was highest for chickens of the low manganese group followed by the control and the high manganese group. Resorption maximum was reached at age 4 weeks, being considerably lower on the second and eighth week. 54Mn distribution in chicken organism was not uniform. It was found in greatest amount in the liver, kidneys, pancreas, tibia and blood. Highest radioactivity in these for all three age periods was established in the Mn-deficient group and lowest - in the group with dietary Mn surplus. Whereas in the indicated soft tissues radioactivity diminished from the 3rd to the 24th hr, in the tibia it went up. This confirms the opinion that the bones appear to be target organs for manganese deposition in the body. (author)