Minimum Dietary Essential Amino Acid-to-total Nitrogen Ratio for Whole Egg Protein Fed to Young Men

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Abstract
Daily urinary nitrogen excretion was measured for 11 young men fed constant nitrogen intakes, equivalent to 0.36 to 0.54 g protein/kg body wt, which approximated their minimum daily requirement. Whole egg furnished 78.6 to 90% of the nitrogen of the basal diet, and oatmeal and tomato juice the remainder. When the ntirogen of the basal diet was replaced isonitrogenously by a mixture of glycine and diammonium citrate, with each compound supplying equal amounts of nitrogen, a 30% replacement did not significantly alter urinary nitrogen excretion. In 4 subjects, a 40% replacement had no significant effect on urinary nitrogen excretion after initial adaptation. A 50% replacement caused no apparent decrease in dietary nitrogen utilization in one subject. A 30% replacement gave an essential amino acid-to-total nitrogen ratio (E/TN) of 2.16 corresponding to 25% of the total nitrogen furnished by essential amino acids. A 40% replacement gave an E/TN ratio of 1.85 and 21% of the nitrogen from essential amino acids.