title: Dietary minerals modify the food intake suppressing effects of high casein diets fed to rats.
abstract: Food intake, growth, and urinary urea and ammonia excretion were studied in young rats undergoing adaptation to high protein diets (70% casein) containing varying amounts of potassium, sodium and chloride. Two commercial mineral mixtures were used. The Bernhart-Tomarelli (BT) mineral mixture is low in K, Na and Cl compared to the TD (modified Williams-Briggs) mineral mixture. Rats consumed significantly less food and had poor growth when fed 70% casein diets containing the BT mineral mixture. Food intake and feed efficiency improved significantly when the BT diets were supplemented with KCl and NaCl, Na acetate or K acetate but not 3-chloropropionate. Urinary urea and ammonia excretion were directly proportional to food (protein) intake. However, body weight gain during the last 3 days of the 9-day study (experiment 3) was negatively correlated with urinary ammonia nitrogen (milligrams per gram food eaten) but not with urinary urea nitrogen. It is concluded that dietary K and/or Na content affects food consumption in rats fed high casein diets. Alterations in renal capacity for handling ammonia may be responsible for the food intake enhancing effect of K or Na in rats fed a high casein diet.
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002364:Caseins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002712:Chlorides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004032:Diet; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012964:Sodium / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D002364:Caseins; D002712:Chlorides; D000641:Ammonia; D012964:Sodium; D009584:Nitrogen; D011188:Potassium