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Inability of the Growing Rat to Substitute L-Histidinol for L-Histidine¹

Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65201

L-Histidinol, the last obligatory intermediate in histidine biosynthesis in microorganisms, was tested for its possible transformation to histidine in the young rat. When an equimolar amount of L-histidinol replaced L-histidine in the diet, the rats lost weight and had an impaired food efficiency. Intraperitoneal or subcutaneous injection of histidine promoted the growth of rats fed ad libitum a histidine-free diet. The similar parenteral administration of histidinol did not prevent weight loss in the animals. The results indicate that the rat cannot convert L-histidinol to L-histidine at a sufficiently fast rate to be detected by growth measurements.

Manuscript received 13 May 1971.