Metabolism Studies with Rats Suffering from Fat Deficiency

Abstract

Fat-deficient rats may synthesize much fat each day as indicated by high respiratory quotients. The fat synthesized from carbohydrate does not contain appreciable quantities of the essential fatty acids since these must be added to the diet to prevent decline and death. Although much smaller, the rats have a higher metabolic rate than their controls. Consequently, they have a much higher rate calculated as calories per square meter of surface. A normal diurnal activity is shown for all groups, which is independent of light and food. The minimum R.Q. is reached after 12 to 16 hours of starvation at 28.5°C. Minimum metabolic rate is reached in the afternoon after 20 hours of starvaton.