Detoxification of cottonseed by salts and alkalies

Summary In a series of four tests in which three deliberately chosen toxic cottonseed meals were treated with aqueous solutions of salts and alkalies, it was found that the best detoxifying effect was obtained with sodium hydroxide, followed very closely by potassium and ammonium hydroxides. Dry heat treatment alone did not detoxify, and mortality was high. Treatment with moisture plus heat gave partial detoxification. Of the 22 chemically‐treated cottonseed meal samples tested, those treated with alkalies showed the best weight gains, the order of decreasing effectiveness being NaOH>KOH>NH4OH>Ca(OH)2. The residual toxicity of treated cottonseed meals cannot be explained on the basis of their free gossypol content as analyzed for meals with high values gave better growth performance than some with lower levels of free gossypol. There were also very marked differences in final body weight after 8 weeks of feeding six different treated cottonseed meal samples having practically the same free gossypol content.