Effect of low calcium and low phosphorus diets on duodenal and ileal absorption of phosphate in chick

The duodenal and ileal absorption of 32P was studied by an in vivo method in control chicks and in chicks fed for 2 weeks a diet deficient in calcium or phosphorus. The results showed a highly significant increase in duodenal and ileal phosphate absorption in chicks fed a low calcium diet and a smaller, though also significant increase in duodenal but not ileal phosphate absorption in chicks fed a low phosphorus diet. The adaptation phenomenon concerning intestinal phosphorus absorption is presumably due in part to a compensatory increase in 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D3 in both deficient diets. However, much higher renal l-hydroxylase activity was found in chicks fed the low calcium diet than in chicks fed the low phosphorus diet. The results indicate that duodenal and ileal absorption of phosphate is a vitamin D mediated process, but the adaptation to a low phosphorus diet tends to be less efficient than that to a low calcium diet, especially in the ileum.