Dried‐grass meal as a riboflavin supplement to animal feeding stuffs with special reference to poultry

The need for riboflavin in animals is discussed and the literature relating to the riboflavin content of grasses and other forage crops is reviewed. Results are given of the riboflavin and the crude protein content of a number of commercial dried‐grass meals; from these results it is shown that the crude protein content of dried‐grass meal may be used as an approximate index for its riboflavin value. The results of a biological test with chicks designed to secure evidence of the value of dried‐grass meal as a riboflavin supplement is reported. Using the riboflavin content of the liver and the incidence of curled‐toe paralysis as essential criteria for the demonstration of adequate riboflavin nutrition, a level of 10% of good‐quality dried‐grass meal containing about 16 μg./g. is shown to be necessary to give optimum results for the healthy growth of chicks.