Utilization of choline from crude soybean lecithin by chicks. 2. Absorption measurements

Absorption of choline was investigated in 30-day-old chicks fed a casein-glucose diet supplemented with either choline chloride or crude soybean lecithin and containing 91YCl3 as a nonabsorbable reference substance. The choline concentration, expressed as choline chloride, was 0.101% in both experimental diets. Net rates of absorption or secretion were computed from the amounts of 91Y and choline assayed in the contents of different segments of the small intestine. Net secretion of total choline into the duodenum was over twice the daily choline intake in both treatments. Most of the choline was absorbed in the upper small intestine. Of the small amounts remaining in the lower jejunum, significantly more choline was absorbed by the choline-fed chicks than by the lecithin-treated birds, but the rates of secretion into the duodenum, the rates of absorption from the upper small intestine and the overall apparent absorbability were not significantly different in the two treatments. Absorption measurements thus indicate that crude soybean lecithin may replace choline chloride as a source of choline.