AMINO ACID PATTERN IN THE BLOOD OF RATS WITH DIETARY HEPATIC NECROSIS

Abstract

A paper chromatographic study of the amino acids and peptides in the blood of rats with dietary liver necrosis has been made.The relative levels of alanine, methionine, tyrosine, glutamic acid, threonine, citrulline, glutamine, oxidized glutathione, and gamma aminoisobutyric acid were increased. The level of reduced glutathione was slightly reduced and levels of valine, taurine, and proline remained unchanged. Beta-alanine, which could not be detected in the blood of normal rats, was found in the case of those with acute liver damage.Although arginine was present in the blood of normal animals and in those on a necrogenic diet prior to the development of the liver lesion, it was not detectable in those animals with acute hepatic necrosis. The possible implications of this finding have been discussed.