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Arsenic-Sulfur Amino Acid Interactions in the Chick

University of Illinois³, Urbana 61801

Abstract

Experiments were conducted with growing crossbred chicks to determine the reasons why cysteine exacerbates roxarsone (3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid) toxicity. A fortified, corn-soybean meal diet that met or exceeded all nutrient requirements of the young chick was fed. While cysteine enhanced roxarsone toxicity, it had little effect on the toxicity of the inorganic arsenicals As₂ O₃ and As₂O₅. The toxicity of another pentavalent organic arsenical, phenylarsonic acid, was also exacerbated by cysteine. In contrast, the growth-depression resulting from feeding the trivalent form of phenylarsonic acid, i.e., phenylarsine oxide, was not affected by dietary addition of cysteine. Supplementation of the diet with cystine, methionine or K₂SO₄ did not exacerbate roxarsone toxicity. Reduced glutathione (GSH), however, slightly increased the gain/ feed depression resulting from feeding 300 mg roxarsone/kg diet. When injected ip 1) roxarsone and cysteine, or 2) roxarsone and ascorbic acid killed 100 or 60% of the birds, respectively, within 48 h postinjection. Few (6.7%) deaths resulted from ip injections of the same level of roxarsone alone. Therefore, the potentiation of toxicity requires pentavalent organic arsenicals and compounds that can act as reducing agents. We concluded that cysteine exacerbates roxar sone toxicity by reducing it to the more toxic trivalent state.

¹ Part of a thesis submitted to the Graduate College of the Univ. of Illinois in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree in Animal Science.

² To whom reprint requests should be addressed.

³ Dept. of Anim. Sci.

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