The effect of intraperitoneally administered gold thioglucose on growth, food consumption and accumulation of gold in various organs of the chicken (Gallus domesticus)

1. Gold thioglucose (GTG) was intraperitoneally injected into 10-day-old male and female chickens in a dose of 0, 0.2, 0.4 or 0.8 mg per gram of body wt. 2. Mortality of the GTG-injected chickens was 100% and 25% for doses of 0.8 and 0.4 mg/gBW respectively, in both sexes and 25% for a dose of 0.2 mg in females, which were all found within 14.5 hr after the GTG treatment. 3. Body weight gain, food consumption and food efficiency of surviving chickens for 23 days after the GTG injection were not affected by GTG in spite of dose level. 4. Gold detected in blood, heart, liver, gallbladder, spleen, proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum, kidney, pectoral muscle, small intestine, lung and brain of the dead chickens accumulated most highly in heart and followed by spleen, but in the surviving chicken a little gold was only found in liver, spleen and kidney of some GTG-treated chickens.