QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rogers, Q. R. Articles by Morris, J. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rogers, Q. R. Articles by Morris, J. G.

Essentiality of Amino Acids for the Growing Kitten¹

Departments of Physiological Sciences and Animal Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616

The effect of deleting each of the amino acids known to be essential for the young rat was determined in post weanling kittens fed a purified diet containing only L-amino acids as the source of dietary nitrogen. When any one of the 10 amino acids (arginine, lysine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine) were deleted from the diet, food intake decreased, the kittens lost weight, and there was a dramatic drop in each corresponding amino acid in the blood plasma; indicating that each of the above amino acids is essential for the kitten. Deletion of all the amino acids except the 10 essential amino acids plus alanine resulted in a decreased weight gain to about normal; indicating that although all the other amino acids could be synthesized, one or more of the dispensable amino acids may be required for maximal growth. When any one of the essential amino acids was decreased to one-half that present in the basal diet, there was no decrease in weight gain, indicating that the high protein requirement of the kitten is not the result of an unusually high requirement for the essential amino acids.

KEY WORDS: • feline amino acid requirements • kitten amino acid requirements • cat amino acid requirements • essentiality of amino acids in the kitten • amino acid requirements of the kitten

¹ This work was supported in part by a gift from the Quaker Oats Company, Research Foundation, Barrington, Illinois 60010 and in part by funds provided through a National Institutes of Health, Public Health Services Biomedical Research support Grant #5501RR05457. The research described in this report involved animals maintained in animal care facilities fully accredited by the American Association for the Accrediation of Laboratory Animal Care.

Manuscript received 13 September 1978.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. S. Green, J. J. Ramsey, C. Villaverde, D. K. Asami, A. Wei, and A. J. Fascetti Cats Are Able to Adapt Protein Oxidation to Protein Intake Provided Their Requirement for Dietary Protein Is Met J. Nutr., June 1, 2008; 138(6): 1053 - 1060. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]