Effect of dietary amino acid pattern on plasma amino acid pattern and food intake

Abstract

Effects of a dietary imbalance of amino acids on the plasma amino acid pattern of the protein-depleted rat are described. The amino acid imbalance was created by adding a mixture of indispensable amino acids lacking histidine to a diet in which the protein was provided by 6% of beef blood fibrin. The addition of this amino acid mixture was previously shown to cause depressions in growth and food intake. In the present study the depression in food intake was preceded by a fall in plasma histidine concentration and at the same time the concentrations of some of the other indispensable amino acids, especially threonine, began to rise. The ratios of several indispensable amino acids to histidine in the plasma were elevated when food intake was most severely depressed.