NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
March, 1951] PAUL, BHALE RAO AND ANANTAKRISHNAN 11
From both the trials it is clear that butter fats from cows, buffaloes, goats and
sheep have greater digestibility than oils, vanaspatis and body fats which follow
in the order of decreasing digestibility. While all the different butter fats are of
almost the same digestibility, among the oils, coconut oil showed the highest digesti-
bility and safflower oil, the lowest digestibility. In the case of vanaspatis, the
digestibility is influenced by the melting point of the product. The body fats are
poorly digested, probably due to their high melting points. This is in close agree-
ment with the results of their relative rates of absorption in the 4-hour period where
it was observed that they were poorly absorbed as compared to cow ghee. The
results, in general, confirm the findings of the previous workers. It can thus be
concluded that the natural oils and fats are digested almost to the same extent,
except the body fats of high melting points. Vanaspatis can, however, be
conveniently used for human consumption, in case, care is taken to see that the
hydrogenation is not carried too far to raise the melting point of the product above
the body temperature.
SUMMARY
The digestibility of the butterfats from cow, buffalo, goat and sheep, the body
fats of the same species, vegetable oils—groundnut, sesame, cottonseed, mustard,
safflower, and coconut and three hydrogenated oils from each of groundnut, sesame,
and cottonseed oils was determined by metabolic experiments on rats.
The butter fats were found to have the highest digestibility, body fats the lowest,
oils and vanaspatis coming intermediate in the order of decreasing digestibility.
Hydrogenation of oils to yield products with m. p. above 38°C. reduced their
digestibility as compared to the base oils.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Our thanks are due to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for a grant
in aid of this investigation and also for the statistical analysis of the data. The
authors are grateful to Dr K. C. Sen, for his keen interest in the work.
REFERENCES
Basu, K. P. and Nath, H. P. (1946). Indian J. med. Res. 34, 13
Deuel, M. G. (Jr.) and Holmes, A. D. (1921). Amer. J. Physiol. 54, 479
Hoagland, R. and Senider, C. G. (1942). U. S. Dept. Agric. Tech. Bull. 521
Holmes, A. D. (1919). U. S. Dept. Agri. Bull. 613
Langworthy, C. F. (1923). J. Ind. & Eng. Chem. 15, 276
Langworthy, C. F. and Holmes, A. D. (1915). U. S. Dept. Agric. Bull. 310
Misra, W. C. and Patwardhan, V. N. (1948). Indian J. med. Res. 36, 27
McCay, C. M. and Paul, H. (193). J. Nutrit. 15, 377
Nhave, N. G. and Patwardhan, V. N. (1946). Indian J. med. Res. 34, 49
Roy, A. (1944). Ann. Biochem. & exptl. Medicine, 4, 17
PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE BLOOD OF DOME-
STIC ANIMALS
II. MALE BUFFALOES*
By N. D. KEHAR and V. N. MURTY, Animal Nutrition Section, Indian Veterinary
Research Institute, Izatnagar
(Received for publication on 16 September 1950)
T HE significance of obtaining an accurate information on the different constitu-
ents of blood of domestic animals under normal conditions has been emphasized
by Kehar [1940], Kehar et al. [1940], Mullick and Pal [1943], and Kehar and Murty
[1945], as an aid in diagnosing the various pathological and metabolic disorders.
A systematic study has been undertaken in these laboratories to establish the normal
physiological standards for the different species of animals.
In this article, observations on the blood constituents of buffaloes are presented.
It may be mentioned that buffalo is an important dairy and draught animal in the
Middle East, India, Pakistan and South Eastern countries. A perusal of the avail-
able literature shows that no systematic work on buffalo blood has so far been
attempted, except a few observations on the red blood corpuscles by Norris [1916]
and Sankaranarayan [1937].
EXPERIMENTAL
Observations were made on 25 apparently healthy adult male buffaloes, during
the summer months. The animals were maintained on an adequate diet throughout
the experimental period. The hæmatological constituents, namely red blood
corpuscles, hæmoglobin, and cell volume and sugar (total reducing substances)
were estimated in the whole blood, whereas the inorganic constituents, viz. calcium,
inorganic phosphorus, and magnesium, and serum proteins were estimated in the
blood serum.
Blood was drawn from the jugular vein in the morning before any feed was
offered to the animals. Neutral potassium oxalate was used as the anticoagulant
and the necessary correction, for the shrinkage of cells, was made while calculating
the volume of the packed cells.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The hæmatological constituents were determined by the methods described
by Napier and Das Gupta [1945]. The results are presented in Table I, and compared
with the corresponding figures for the bullocks of three different breeds.
* Read at the Indian Science Congress Session, 1948 held at Patna
13
3
14
PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE BLOOD OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS [Vol. XXI, Part I,
TABLE I
Haematological constituents of buffalo bullocks.
Constituent
Hemoglobin gm./100 ml. . .
Red blood cells—millions/c.mm.
Packed cells (per cent)
Corpuscular values (calculated)
Mean corpuscular volume (C.mm.)
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin
micro micro grammes (rr).
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin
concentration per cent
Male buffalo
Minimum
6.1
4.4
24.5
52.2
11.0
19.6
Maximum
9.3
7.2
44.5
67.3
14.2
25.4
Average with
S.E.
7.7±0.22
6.1±0.16
35.5±1.26
58.4±1.05
12.7±0.19
21.8±0.40
Hariana
bullock
average
10.8
11.0
8.0
7.7
50.6
68.7
14.9
21.8
Kumaoni
bullocks
average with
S.E.
} 7.4±0.18
6.5±0.24
35.3±1.34
54.6±1.17
11.6±0.29
21.2±0.40
Dhanni
bullocks
average
12.5
7.9
..
S. E. represents standard error.
Haematological constituents
Hemoglobin. Hemoglobin was determined by the acid hematin method of
Newcomer [1925] as described by Hawk and Bergeim [1938]. The mean hemo-
globin was 7.7±0.22 with a range of 6.1 to 9.3 gm. per 100 ml. blood. This figure
was significantly lower than the one reported for Hariana and Dhanni bullocks by
Mullick and Pal [1943] and Hariana bullocks by Kehar and Murty [1945]. These
authors did not mention the season in which their observations were made. The
figure reported by us is slightly higher than the hemoglobin content of the Kumaoni
bullocks, recorded by Murty and Kehar [1950] during the summer months.
Red blood corpuscles. The red blood corpuscles varied from 4.4 to 7.2 millions
per cubic milli meter with an average of 6.1 ± 0.16. This figure is higher than the
one reported by Norris [1916] and lower than that of Sankara Narayan [1937].
This value is lower than the one observed for Dhanni. Hariana and Kumaoni
bullocks by Mullick and Pal [1943], Kehar and Murty [1945] and Murty and Kehar
[1950] respectively.
Cell volume
The cell volume ranged from 24.5 to 44.5 per cent with a mean value of 35.5±
1.26. This agrees with the value observed by Murty and Kehar [1950] for Kumaoni
bullucks and is significantly lower than the one recorded by Kehar and Murty [1945]
for Hariana bullocks.
Corpuscular values
The mean corpuscular volume (M.C.V.) was 58.4±1.05 with a range of 52.2
to 67.3 cubic microns. The mean corpuscular hemoglobin (M.C.H.) varied between
11.0 and 14.2 micro micro grammes with an average of 12.7 micro micro grammes.
The mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (M.C.H.C.) was 21.8 per cent,
the minimum being 19.4 and maximum 25.4 per cent.
March, 1951]
N.
D.
KEHAR
AND
V.
N. MURTY 15
All the calculated corpuscular values are lower than the values for the pure
bred Hariana bullocks [Kehar and Murty, 1945] except the mean corpuscular
hemoglobin concentration. These values observed for male buffaloes are slightly
higher than the values observed by Murty and Kehar [1950] for the non-descript
Kumaoni bullocks.
Organic and inorganic constitutents
The organic and inorganic constituents of the buffalo blood are presented in
Table II and compared with the Hariana, Dhanni and Kumaoni bullocks.
TABLE II
Organic and inorganic constituents of buffalo bullocks
Constituent
Sugar mg. per 100 ml. blood .
Protein gm. per cent. . .
Calcium mg. per cent . .
Inorganic phosphorus mg. per cent
Magnesium mg. per cent . .
Male buffalo
Minimum
67.1
7.13
9.4
5.16
2.14
Maximum
88.2
7.75
11.0
7.84
3.45
Average
with S.E.
79.4±3.1
7.46±0.09
10.0±0.09
6.95±0.05
2.76±0.10
Kumaoni
bullock.
Average
with S.E.
88.1±2.12
6.79±0.26
10.5±0.10
6.8± .20
2.35± .11
Hariana
bullock
average
75.6 }
80.1
8.61
10.4
4.26
2.78
Dhanni
bullock
average
..
..
11.14
..
1.84
Sugar (total reducing substances)
Blood sugar was estimated by the method of Host and Hatlehol [1920] and the
values varied between 67.1 and 88.2 mg. per 100 ml. blood. The average value
was 79.4±3.10 mg. per 100 ml. Mullick and Pal [1943] reported 80.1 and 88.3 mg.
per 100 ml. blood for Hariana and Dhanni bullocks while Kehar and Murty [1945]
observed a value of 75.6 mg. per 100 ml. blood. Murty and Kehar [1950] recorded
an average value of 88.1 mg. per 100 ml. blood in the case of Kumaoni bullocks.
Serum protein. The serum protein was determined by the usual Kjeldahl
method and the mean value observed was 7.46 gm. per 100 ml. of blood serum, a
value lower than the one reported by Kehar and Murty [1945] for Hariana bullocks,
and higher than the figure recorded for Kumaoni bullocks by Murty and Kehar
[1950].
Calcium. Calcium was determined by the method of Kramer and Tisdall
[1921] as modified by Clark and Collip [1925]. The average calcium content was
10.0±0.09 ranging between 9.4 and 11.0 mg. per 100 ml. of blood serum. A higher
value has been recorded for Hariana bullocks by Mullick and Pal [1943] and Kehar
and Murty [1945], for Dhanni bullocks by Mullick and Pal [1943] and also for Kumaoni
bullocks by Murty and Kehar [1950].
Inorganic phosphorus
Estimation of inorganic phosphorus was made by the method of Fiske and
Subbarow [1925]. The values varied from 5.76 to 7.84 mg. with a mean value of
16 PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE BLOOD OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS [Vol. XXI, Part I,
6.95±0.05 mg. per 100 ml. sera. This figure is significantly higher than the one
reported for Hariana bullocks by Kehar and Murty [1945].
Magnesium
The method of Fiske and Subbarow [1925] with the modifications of Holzapfel
[1934], was used in estimating the magnesium content of serum. The maximum
and minimum values were 3.45 and 2.14 with an average of 2.76±0.10 mg. per 100
ml. of serum. Kehar and Murty [1945] observed 2.78 mg. per 100 ml. of serum in
the case of Hariana, while Mullick and Pal [1943] recorded an average figure of 2.40
mg. for Hariana and 2.84 mg. of mg. per 100 ml. of serum for the Dhanni bullocks.
Murty and Kehar [1950] noted 2.35±0.11 mg. of magnesium per 100 ml. of blood
serum for Kumaoni bullocks.
SUMMARY
A systematic study of the haematological and inorganic constituents of the blood
of different species of domestic animals has been undertaken. This article presents
observations on the different physiological blood constituents of the male buffalo.
The average values recorded for the different constituents analyzed are as follows :
Hemoglobin 7.7±0.22 per 100 ml. blood, red blood corpuscles 6.1±0.16 millions
per cubic milli meter, cell volume 35.5±1.26 per cent, mean corpuscular volume
58.4±1.05 cubic microns, mean corpuscular hemoglobin 12.7±0.19 micro micro
grammes and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration 21.8±0.40 per cent, sugar
(total reducing substances) 79.4±3.10 mg. per 100 ml. blood serum protein 7.46 gm.
per 100 ml. serum, calcium 10.0±0.09, inorganic phosphorus 6.95±0.05 and magne-
sium 2.76±0.10 mg. per 100 ml. of serum.
These values compare favourably with the Kumaoni bullocks which are of
non descript type but show interesting differences in the haematological consti-
tuents (except the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), serum protein
and inorganic phosphorus, when compared to the pure bred Hariana and Dhanni
bullocks.
References
Clark, E. V. and Collip, J. B. (1925). J. Biol. Chem. 63, 461
Fiske, C. M. and Subbarow, Y. (1925). J. Bio. Chem. 66, 375
Hawk, P. B. and Bergeim, O. (1938). Practical Physiological Chemistry, J. & A. Churchill II
London
Host, H. F. and Hathehol, R. (1920). J. Biol. Chem. 42, 347
Holzapfel, C. R. (1934). Onderstepoort, J. Vet. Sci., 2, 115
Kehar, N. D., (1940). Indian J. vet. Sci. 10, 223
Kehar. N. D., Singh, M. and Rao, G. Ibid, 88
Kehar, N. D., and Murty, V. V. S. (1945). Indian J. vet. Sci. 15, 183
Kramer, B. and Tisdall, F. F. (1921). J. Biol. Chem., 47, 475
Mullick, D. N. and Pal, A. K. (1943). Indian J. vet. Sci. 13, 146
Murty, V. N. and Kehar, N. D. (1950). (In press)
Napier, L. E. and Das Gupta, C. R. (1945). Haematological Technique U. N. Dhar & Sons Ltd.,
Calcutta
Newcomer, M. S. (1923). J. Biol. Chem. 55, 569
Norris, R. V. (1916). Agricultural Research Institute, Bull. 60
Sankaranarayan, N. S. (1937). Indian J. vet. Sci. 7, 97
STUDIES ON VENEZUELA (MELINIS
MINUTIFLORA
BEAUV) GRASS
I. THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF VENEZUELA GRASS
AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF GROWTH
By J. N. BARUA, N. K. AYYAR, and N. D. KEHAR, Animal Nutrition Section, Indian
Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar
(Received for publication on 15 February 1950)
T HE importance of grass in its various forms in the dietary of cattle needs
no special emphasis. Various investigations on different fodder grasses show
that apart from the dominating influence of factors like soil and climate, the stage
of growth of the plant has also an important bearing on the chemical composition
and nutritive value [Woodman and Evans, 1935 ; Woodward et al. 1939 ; James
and Pratt, 1942 ; Hobbs et al. 1945 ; Schofield 1944, 1945 and 1946 ; and Stapledon,
1947]. Although the flush period of production of different species may differ even
under identical conditions of soil and climate, both the nutritive value and palatability
are found to be at a higher level in the pre-flowering stage when the cellulose
structure of the plant body is not lignified to a great extent. Each species of plant
needs separate study under the prevailing conditions to which it is subjected and
in the case of grasses it is equally important to know the best period of cutting for
hay making.
Venezuela grass which is also known as molasses or wynne grass, was first
introduced in India by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and has been
successfully grown in many parts of the country, specially in Assam. According
to available literature nothing is known about its digestibility co-efficients and
nutritive value. In a predominantly agricultural country the selection of a suitable
type of fodder grass for cultivation is an important present day problem to provide
feeds to the millions of our underfed cattle. The present investigation was under-
taken to study the chemical composition of Venezuela as affected by seasonal varia-
tions, and also whether this grass could be cultivated as a successful fodder crop in
India.
Bews [1927] stated that Melinis minutiflora Beauv, molasses grass, is an im-
portant fodder grass in the tropics of both hemispheres. In Brazil it is known as
'Capim mellad' (Hackel) or 'Capim gordura' (Warming). It forms a very dense
association on very old forest soil giving at the time of flowering, the whole land-
scape a reddish brown colour. In Angola it goes under the name of 'Efwatakala
grass' and is said to be sought after by domestic animals for fodder and at the same
time is considered inimical to the tse-tse fly. It has been during recent years cultivat-
ed in Rhodesia and South Africa. In Natal, a hairy variety, 'pilosa stapf' is usually
met with.
17
4
March, 1951]
BARUA,
AYYAR,
AND
KEHAR
19
when the number of cuttings was restricted to two from the second plot, the yield
was only thirteen tons per acre, i.e. 31.6 per cent less.
Chemical composition
For studying the chemical composition of the grass at different stages of growth,
a narrow strip of grass plot consisting of two to three parallel rows of bushes was set
apart at the end of each plot breadthwise and a few bushes were cut here and there
at 3 in. above ground level on the first and second day of every month. The stems
of the cut bushes were well marked by sticking wooden spikes in the ground near
them. Due precaution was taken to avoid recutting the same bushes, as after
a few months due to new vegetative growth, the cut bushes also resembled the uncut
ones. Thus every month new bushes were selected and cut for analysis which
represented respectively the grass at different stages of growth. Monthly samples
for analysis were taken for one whole year and estimations were made for their
organic and inorganic constituents by the standard methods used in these laboratories.
The results of analysis are shown in Tables I and II.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
From a perusal of Table I it may be seen that there is no remarkable variation
in the amount of organic matter of the grass from month to month, except that for
the first three months there has been a gradual increase. The peak, however,
reached in the month of May after which it remained fairly steady. When the
organic matter increased there was a corresponding decrease in total ash.
TABLE I
Percentage composition of Venezuela grass (organic constituents on dry matter basis)
Months
August 1946
September 1946
October 1946
November 1946
December 1946
January 1947
February 1947
March 1947
April 1947
May 1947
June 1947
July 1947
Date of
cut
1-9-46
1-10-46
1-11-46
2-12-46
3-1-47
1-2-47
1-3-47
1-4-47
1-5-47
2-6-47
1-7-47
2-8-47
Organic
matter
79.75
83.93
90.60
87.01
86.96
89.28
88.09
87.73
89.59
91.79
88.42
39.15
Crude
protein
5.06
4.93
4.64
7.34
8.54
9.44
10.06
7.53
4.34
3.90
3.75
3.44
Ether
extract
0.88
1.17
1.11
1.13
1.26
1.38
2.18
1.48
1.42
1.29
1.10
1.37
Crude
fibre
32.55
32.36
33.19
30.11
31.53
29.81
30.04
34.43
35.27
40.09
41.27
41.36
Nitrogen
free
extract
41.26
45.47
51.66
48.43
45.63
48.65
45.81
44.31
48.56
46.51
42.30
42.98
Total
ash
20.25
16.07
9.40
12.99
13.04
10.72
11.91
12.27
10.41
8.21
11.58
10.85
Total
oxalic
acid
1.50
1.44
1.37
1.66
1.66
1.69
1.70
1.61
1.41
1.20
1.15
1.06
The protein content of the grass showed a gradual rise in the beginning of the
growth of the plant and in fact this may be taken as an index of judging its quality
4A
20
STUDIES
ON
VENEZUELA
GRASS—I
[Vol. XXI, Part I,
as many other nutrients closely followed this trend. One month prior to the emer-
gence of inflorescence, i.e. in February, the grass had the maximum protein content.
After this the protein content began to fall gradually and the lowest value was
reached in July when the fibre content of the grass was the highest. All along
its different stages of maturity an inverse relationship between crude fibre and
protein content was noticed.
The ether extract fraction of the grass reached its highest value during the
flush period of growth in February but with maturity it showed a gradual fall.
The crude fibre content showed a steady increase with progressive maturity.
The other fraction of the carbohydrate moiety, namely the nitrogen free extract
did not show any definite trend. In the period following establishment of the
grass it showed an increase and later on a decrease.
The total oxalic acid content of the grass was not very high but along with
maturity it showed a decrease. In its rise and fall, it closely followed the protein
content reaching the peak (1.7 per cent) in February and falling to a minimum (1.06
per cent) in July.
TABLE II
Percentage chemical composition of Venezuela grass (inorganic constituents on dry
matter basis)
Months
August 1946
September 1946
October 1946
November 1946
December 1946
January 1947
February 1947
March 1947
April 1947
May 1947
June 1947
July 1947
Date
of
cut
1-9-46
1-10-46
1-11-46
2-12-46
3-1-47
1-2-47
1-3-47
1-4-47
1-5-47
2-6-47
1-7-47
2-8-47
Calcium
(Ca)
0.44
0.46
0.45
0.47
0.48
0.47
0.46
0.43
0.41
0.40
0.39
0.36
Phos-
phorus
(P)
0.37
0.37
0.33
0.40
0.41
0.42
0.44
0.32
0.30
0.24
0.22
0.19
Magne-
sium
(Mg)
0.54
0.52
0.48
0.82
0.92
0.80
0.71
0.70
0.54
0.42
0.40
0.39
Sodium
(Na)
0.33
0.28
0.28
0.26
0.27
0.26
0.25
0.31
0.32
0.32
0.34
0.32
Potas-
sium
(K)
0.75
0.74
0.78
0.79
0.84
1.13
1.32
1.39
1.10
0.97
0.91
0.88
Chlorine
(Cl)
0.093
0.093
0.092
0.16
0.17
0.21
0.27
0.18
0.17
0.17
0.15
0.12
Sulphur
(S)
0.071
0.081
0.076
0.11
0.11
0.11
0.12
0.12
0.075
0.070
0.071
0.061
The analytical data presented in Table II showed that this grass is rather low
in calcium and fairly rich in phosphorus. The calcium content was found to be
higher during dry winter periods than in summer. The highest value was recorded
in December and the lowest in July. The phosphorus content, on the other hand,
reached its peak in the month of February and the lowest limit in July.
Usually the content of magnesium in most plants is lower than that of calcium
but in this particular grass it was found to be always higher. In its rise and fall
it rather resembled calcium. Like calcium it reached its peak value in the month
March, 1951]
BARUA,
AYYAR
AND
KEHAR
21
of December and the lowest in the month of July. But unlike calcium it had a
wider range of variations. Like calcium, phosphorus and protein, the magnesium
content was higher during the early stages of growth when there were fresh develop-
ments of tender shoots and leaves.
Thus the winter grass was found to be richer in calcium, phosphorus and protein
than the summer. Lander [1942] also came to a similar conclusion working on the
perennial grasses of the Punjab.
As is usually the case, the sodium content of the grass was lower than that of
potassium. It showed its variations within a very narrow range. In its rise and
fall it rather showed a negative correlation with potassium. The potassium content
of the grass showed more regular variations than that of sodium. It had a tide
similar to that of protein and phosphorus and the peak values were reached nearly
at the same time.
The chlorine content of the grass was low. It resembled protein in its rise and
fall reaching its peak value in February.
The total sulphur content of the grass was negligible and in its rise and fall
it also resembled protein.
Distribution of different elements in the leaf and stems of the grass at the flowering stage
At the flowering stage of the grass a separate leaf and stem analysis was made
to study the distribution of various elements. Here the leaf represented the leaf
blade as well as the leaf sheath, and stem only the stalk without the leaves. The
results are set out in Table III.
TABLE III
Showing the distribution of different elements in the leaf and stem at the flowering stage
(percentage on dry matter basis)
Ratio
Dry matter
Crude protein
Total ash
Insoluble ash
Organic matter
Ether extract
Crude fibre
Nitrogen free extract
Total oxalic acid
Calcium (Ca)
Phosphorus (P)
Magnesium (Mg)
Sodium (Na)
Potassium (K)
Total sulphur (S)
Organ.
Leaf
46.20
90.84
5.44
14.78
9.09
85.22
1.45
28.20
50.13
1.81
0.59
0.35
0.56
0.25
1.01
0.091
Stem
53.80
90.91
3.44
5.34
1.63
94.66
0.11
44.25
46.86
0.32
0.12
0.20
0.39
0.25
0.86
0.080
In the flowering stage of the grass the proportion of stem was higher than that
of the leaves. The leafy portion was found to be richer in all the nutrients except