Anti-Grey Hair Vitamin Deficiency in the Silver Fox
December 1940
in “
The journal of nutrition/The Journal of nutrition
”
TLDR Lack of certain vitamins causes fur loss and greying in silver foxes.
The study investigated the effects of anti-grey hair vitamin deficiency on six young silver foxes. Three foxes were given a diet supplemented with a yeast filtrate rich in the anti-grey hair factor, while the other three were not. The deficient foxes showed significant fur loss and greying within 44 days, with one dying after 26 days. Autopsies revealed large red-mottled thymuses in the deficient foxes, while those receiving the supplement retained normal dark fur and had no thymus abnormalities. The results suggest a link between nutritional deficiencies and endocrine function, similar to findings in rats and dogs.