Blood urea measurement as a technique for assessing protein quality
- 1 December 1970
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in British Journal of Nutrition
- Vol. 24 (4), 983-988
- https://doi.org/10.1079/bjn19700101
Abstract
1. Three factors were investigated which influence blood urea content, namely the protein content in the diet, the time after feeding and the protein quality of the diet.2. To investigate the relationship between the protein content in the diet and the blood urea content, seventeen experiments with rats given increasing amounts of protein in the diet were carried out. The experimental results show that there is a positive correlation (r = 0.95) between the protein content in the diet and the blood urea content.3. For investigation of the influence of time after feeding on the urea content in the blood, a pig was used having a catheter in the portal vein for blood sampling at intervals. The results from this experiment showed that the blood urea content increases for the first 3–4 h after feeding and thereafter reaches a plateau.4. To use blood urea measurement as a technique for assessing protein quality it is necessary to work under standardized conditions, especially in regard to the two factors just discussed.5. Forty-two feeding-stuffs of widely differing quality were used in nitrogen balance trials with rats. The results showed that there is an inverse relation between the blood urea content and the biological value of the diet which is sufficiently accurate (coefficient of variation = 53%) to provide ausefulmethod for the predictionof protein quality from measurement of urea levels.Keywords
This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
- Protein intake and blood urea in the dogPublished by Wiley ,1969
- Effect of Diet on Concentration of Protein, Urea Nitrogen, Sugar and Cholesterol of Blood Plasma of HorsesJournal of Animal Science, 1969
- Empfehlung zur Proteinbewertung von Eiweißfuttermitteln anhand der Bestimmung der Harnstoffkonzentration im Blut von Ratte oder SchweinArchives of Animal Nutrition, 1968
- Effects of Urease Immunization of Growing Pigs upon Performance and Blood and Intestinal UreolysisJournal of Animal Science, 1964
- Amino Acid Balance and ImbalanceJournal of Nutrition, 1961
- Problems in the prediction of protein values of dietsBritish Journal of Nutrition, 1961
- Dependence of Biological Value on Protein Concentration in the Diet of the Growing RatJournal of Nutrition, 1958
- The Growth and Maintenance Utilization of Dietary ProteinJournal of Nutrition, 1946
- Microdiffusion methods. Ammonia and urea using buffered absorbents (revised methods for ranges greater than 10μg. N)Biochemical Journal, 1942