Alternate-day betamethasone treatment does not affect intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphate and growth rate of chicks.

The effect of oral administration of betamethasone in single daily doses (25 microgram kg-1 d-1) and in single alternate-day doses (50 microgram kg-1 every other day) on the duodenal absorption of calcium, on the jejunal absorption of phosphate and on weight gain has been studied in chicks using the in vivo ligated loop technique. The daily administration of betamethasone for three weeks markedly reduced the absorption of calcium and phosphate as well as the growth rate. Alternate-day treatment lacked all these adverse effects of betamethasone and the results did not differ significantly from those in the control chicks.