[Effect of chlorine derivative of phenoxy acid herbicides on the biological value of the grain from cereal crops].

It has been demonstrated in experiments on weanling rats and Tetrahymena pyriformis infusoria that the treatment of rye and wheat plantings with herbicides--amine salt of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DA) and dialene leads to alterations in the biological value of the grain of these Gramineae. Similar alterations in the effectiveness of protein assimilation by young rats have been obtained after introducing into a formula food mixture fed to animals of 2,4-DA in an amount found below the sensitivity limits of the methods used for its determination. The results obtained suggest that the biological value of Gramineae grain grown with the use of herbicides is affected both by the changes in the grain content of natural food substances and by the presence in the grain of unidentifiable residual amounts of herbicides.