Gonzalo Donoso

Allantoin excretion in the rat.

I . Allantoin excretion was determined in forty-four rats; twenty-four rats were 21 d old and twenty were 90 d old. The animals received ad lib. for 11 d diets that contained varying amounts of protein from casein and from gluten. Urinary allantoin excretion was determined during the last 3 d of the period. 2. The amount of allantoin excreted in both young and adult animals was independent of the diet consumed and was related to metabolic weight (W in kg0”8) and rate of gain in bodyweight (AW in g/d), also to body nitrogen content (N in and rate of gain in body N (AN in mg/d), according to the equations allantoin (mg/d) = 60.54 W0-73 + z.IzAW, and allantoin (mg/d) = 5.45 + 0.071AN.

Metabolism of serum albumin in marasmic infants

By means of studies with I 131 -labeled human serum albumin, the serum albumin half-life of marasmic infants has been shown to be longer than that of normal infants. It is suggested that reduced catabolism of body proteins may contribute to the survival of the infant during prolonged periods of inadequate calorie and protein intake.

Protein-rich mixtures for human consumption based on fish flour, sunflower presscake meal, dried skim milk and wheat flour

I. The quality of the protein in five high-protein mixtures intended for human consumption and made from materials that are available in Chile is reported. 2. The ingredients were fish flour, bread, wheat (Triticum sutivum Lam.) flour, roasted whole wheat flour, a wheat flour made from a variety of dururn wheat (T . durum Desf.), skim milk and sunflower presscake, mixed in different proportions. 3. The net protein utilization when fed to rats in diets at the 10 yo level of protein calories gave values in the range 66-76, which compare well with that (67), found for Incaparina, an all-vegetable mixture produced by the INCAP Group and used in Colombia, and are higher than the values (55 and 56) obtained for Peruvitas, which are mixtures made up basically from cottonseed and quinoa reinforced with dried skim milk. 4. The protein values of the mixtures, expressed as net dietary protein calories yo, were calculated from their biologically determined net protein utilization (operative), and gave values that ranged from 10.5 to 12.8, which are higher than the recommended values in diets for infants and toddlers.

Casein and Gluten Diets of the Same Protein Value

The performances of young rats fed ad libitum during 55 days on casein and gluten diets with 4 and 8 NDpCal% were studied. The gluten diets contained about 1.7 an