Effect of Nitrogen Restriction on the Utilization of α-Ketoisovalerate for Growth in the Weanling Rat

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Abstract
Weanling rats were fed diets containing 6 or 10% essential amino acids as the sole source of nitrogen. Urine urea nitrogen as a fraction of dietary nitrogen was only 7% in both groups. When valine was replaced by an equimolar quantity of calcium α-ketoisovalerate, with glutamate added to maintain nitrogen intake, growth and feed efficiency were unaltered. Additional α-ketoisovalerate caused increased growth, but not when added to diets containing valine. The results show that calcium α-ketoisovalerate substitutes for valine with complete efficiency in these nitrogen-restricted diets, in contrast to its less than complete efficiency in 15% amino acid diets reported previously.

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