Chemical Pathology of Acute Amino Acid Deficiencies

Abstract

Rats force-fed a purified diet devoid in valine were found to develop a periportal fatty liver, excess hepatic glycogen, and atrophy of the pancreas, parotid, thymus and spleen within 6 days after beginning the diets. Rats force-fed the lysine-devoid diet showed similar but less striking changes. It was found that the animals force-fed the valine- or lysine-devoid diet showed no change of protein content in the liver but a marked decrease of protein content in the right gastrocnemius muscle in comparison with animals given the complete diet. Animals fed the same deficient diets ad libitum, in contrast with those force-fed, consumed less food, showed loss of muscle and liver protein with a decrease of liver lipid and glycogen, and showed no specific pathologic changes. The differences in the results between the force-feeding and the ad libitum feeding regimens are explained in terms of differences in the quantity of the deficient diets consumed. The pathologic lesions found in the rats force-fed valine- or lysine-devoid diets resembled those described to be characteristic of kwashiorkor.