A study on the relationship between iridium concentration in hen eggs and the iridium-enriched feed stuff by INAA

Several hens were fed by adding ammonium chloroiridate into their forage. After two weeks, the Ir concentration in three fractions (eggshell, albumen, egg yolk) of their eggs were measured by INAA. Ir was found in all of the three parts. However, the highest concentration of Ir was found in the egg yolk fraction, which was about 10 times higher than that in the eggshell and albumen. Moreover, the longer the Ir-containing feed stuff was used, the higher the Ir concentration in the egg fractions was. After 7-8 days feeding, it kept stable. On the other hand, as soon as adding the Ir-containing additives were stopped, the Ir concentration in the egg fractions fell down quickly. The experimental results indicated that the ratio from the feedstuff to the eggshell via gastrointestinal pathway to be about 0.07 percent. The new result might be beneficial to explain the iridium-enriched dinosaur eggshell fossils and to interpret the origin of the mass extinct event of dinosaur occurred at the end of Cretaceous