Antimicrobial substances and chick growth promotion: Comparative studies on selected compounds in vitro and in vivo

1. Antibacterial activity of selected compounds in vitro and their ability to promote growth when added to the diet of chicks were not correlated.

2. The difference in growth‐promoting activity between streptomycin, which was active, and kanamycin which was not, was not related to their effects on the flora adhering to the wall of the crop, jejunum or ileum, to their relative toxicity to the chick nor to differences in their stability in the diet.

3. When low concentrations ofkanamycin or streptomycin were given, the antibiotic was concentrated in the caecal contents. In contrast, penicillin was undetectable in the caeca of birds given high concentrations of benzyl penicillin.

4. In chicks given benzyl penicillin, the numbers of Streptococcus faecium increased at the expense of Strep, faecalis. This probably resulted from changes in the crop flora.

5. Birds given high dietary concentrations of benzyl penicillin showed improved weight gains, in spite of increased numbers of Escherichia coli in the small intestine.