The Role of Dispensable Amino Acids in the Nutrition of the Rat

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Abstract
The effects of modifying the dispensable amino acid and sodium bicarbonate content of purified amino acid diets on the growth rate and feed consumption of male weanling rats were studied. Growth rate and feed consumption were significantly increased when an amino acid diet containing the hydrochloride forms of arginine, histidine and lysine and the salt mixture of Jones and Foster was supplemented with sodium bicarbonate. The omission of asparagine, all or a part of the glutamic acid or proline resulted in significant decreases in weight gain. Weight gains tended to be lowered, though not significantly, by the omission of serine and glycine. The effects on feed consumption were comparable to those on weight gains. The growth-promoting qualities of casein lost in acid hydrolysis were restored by the addition of asparagine and indispensable amino acids known to be affected by acid hydrolysis. The complete amino acid diets and the casein hydrolysate supplemented with asparagine appeared to be nutritionally equivalent to intact casein.