Effects of "Products of Chicken Embryo" on Growth and Sexual Development in Rats

Products of Chicken Embryo (PCE) such as Ji-Pei-Jing is a kind of food for Chinese children prepard from chicken embryo. Female rats on 21 days were administered with aqueous solutions of Ji-Pei-Jing (1. 2 %, 3 %, 12%, and 48%, respectively) by gavage up to their onsets of puberty.The rats in the control group were treated with distilled water. However, Ji-Pei-Jing treatment exerted some effects on sexual mauration in the immature female rats. Essentially, the effects showed a dose-response tendency with an inverted "U" shape.The age of vopnal opening for gnup treated with Ji-Pei-Jing was significantly earier than that to the control. Its uterus weight/b. w. ratio also significantly increased on day 30 and at the first estrus. There were significantly increases in the adrenal weight/b. w. raio of 30-day-old rats that were treated with 3%, 12%, and 48% Ji-Pei-Jing. The rats treated with 48% Ji-Pei-Jing had significantly lesser ovary weight.b.w. radio on day 30, too. The rats treated with Ji-Pei-Jing could normally ovulate at the first estrus, and no significant differences were observed during estrous cycles.The effects of PCE on serum levels of K, P, LH in 30-day-old nds and FSH in 28-day-old ras were elevated significantly by 3 % Ji-Pei-Jing treatment. It appeare that the effects of PCE result from interaction of contained complex physiologically active substances. Steriods, especially estradio-17β,possibly Play a key role, and polpeptide hormones may also exert important effects.