K. N. May

Some Biochemical and Physical Changes Occurring in Experimentally-Inflicted Poultry Bruises.

Summary Proteolytic activities, detected in experimentally-inflicted poultry bruises, were found to be influenced by many factors such as previous bruising, severity, and age of the bruise. Bruised tissues accumulated extrastromal hemoglobin which was degraded primarily to biliverdin in bruises contused on birds kept at 30° C and to bilirubin in birds kept at 21° C or below.

Effect of ascorbate on healing of poultry bruises.

Summary The level of ascorbate in the blood of normal birds was higher in birds kept at 7.2 and 21°C than in those raised at 30°C. Bruising resulted in a depletion of ascorbate in the blood probably due to utilization by the damaged tissues. Bruises injected daily with 2.0 mg Na-ascorbate healed at a much faster rate than bruises of non-treated birds. This treatment resulted in fast degradation of the hemoglobin present, mostly to bilirubin in birds kept at 30°C which normally accumulate biliverdin. Na-ascorbate reduced the size of the bruise and activated proteolytic enzyme in bruised tissue.