[Conception of female rats and litter mortality due to Mn-deficiency]

Sexually mature, female rats were fed an Mn-deficient (1.0 ppm) diet on saccharose/casein basis and studied for their reproductive behaviour. Cycle disorders as sometimes described of females depleted over a longer period, were not observed in any case. Although the experimental animals showed a normal estrus, only 50% of the rats conceived. The rats that had become pregnant produced litters of 2 to 11 animals born alive. However, their mortality was 80%. They died either immediately after birth or during the first days post partum.