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Feeding of Bamboo Flowers to Laboratory Rats and Mice

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Abstract

ACCORDING to a popular myth there is a baffling connexion between the flowering of bamboos and the appearance of rat hordes which spread around destroying crops and eating chickens, puppies and even babies1. The present inquiry is an attempt to explain the mysterious phenomenon of an abnormal increase in field rats associated with the flowering of bamboos as recently witnessed in North-east Frontier and Tripura areas. The problem was approached from the point of view of evaluating the palatability, the œstrogenic activity and the reproduction stimulating values of bamboo flowers for rats.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Animal Nutrition, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, U.P.

    V. MAHADEVAN, S. S. NEGI & O. N. AGARWALA

Authors
  1. V. MAHADEVAN
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  2. S. S. NEGI
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  3. O. N. AGARWALA
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MAHADEVAN, V., NEGI, S. & AGARWALA, O. Feeding of Bamboo Flowers to Laboratory Rats and Mice. Nature 192, 470–471 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/192470a0

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