Amino Acid Balance and Imbalance. IX. Effect of Amino Acid Imbalance on Blood Amino Acid Pattern. ∗

Abstract

Summary

Effects of adding a mixture of methionine and phenylalanine or a mixture of indispensable amino acids lacking histidine to diets containing 6% of fibrin on rate of food intake and on the blood amino acid pattern of rats have been determined in short term experiments. Amino acid imbalances induced by both of these procedures caused a reduction in rate of food consumption within a few hours after the feeding period. Feeding diets containing additional methionine and phenylalanine to protein-depleted rats caused a fall in concentration of the group of amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine and histidine) limiting growth. Similarly, a rapid fall in concentration of the most limiting amino acid, histidine, occurred in the blood of rats trained to accept single daily feeding and then fed diets containing an amino acid mixture lacking histidine.