EFFECT OF DIETARY PROTEIN LEVEL ON NITROGEN CONTENT OF THE LIVER, LIVER WEIGHT AND BODY WEIGHT OF THE ALBINO RAT
- VernacularTitle:不同蛋白质水平膳食对鼠的肝氮肝重及体重恹复的影响
- Author:
Wenhsun FAN
;
Enfu YANG
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:
Acta Nutrimenta Sinica
1956;0(01):-
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Using albino rats weighing 210-280 and 300-400 grams, identical experiments were carried out twice to study the effect of dietary protein level on the nitrogen regeneration of the liver. The rats were divided into two groups and were fed ad libitum with 20% and 10% casein diets respectively. During the preliminary,period of three weeks, the average food consumption of rats in both groups were the same. Both diets were found to be adequate in maintaining the body weight of the animals.The experiment was continued for three consecutive periods: the normal period (7 days), the fasting period (2 days) and the regeneration period (4 days). During the normal and regeneration periods the rats were fed with their respective original diets. At the end of each period, the body weights of the animals were determined and one third of the animals in each group were killed for analysis of liver nitrogen. In the first experiment nitrogen balance in each period was also determined and in the second experiment some internal organs other than liver were weighed.It was found that the level of protein in the diet had no effect on the body weight or the weight of the internal organs, but had significant effect on nitrogen balance and the content of nitrogen in the liver. The liver nitrogen fell to the same level after two days fasting irrespective of the original content. Significant correlation was found between nitrogen balance and food intake of the rats in the 10% casein group, and between the liver nitrogen content and food intake in the 20% casein group. As the energy intakes of both groups in the two experiments were above 1200 Cal. per square meter of body surface, the effect of nitrogen retention could not be due to the caloric intake (Benditt et al) but to the net amount of protein ingested. The possibility of using a 10% level diet for estimating the biological value of protein with the method of nitrogen regeneration in liver is discussed.
