Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas médicas e biológicas
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Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. · Jan 1990
Liver and kidney nitrogen uptake in rats fed beans enriched with 15nitrogen through (15NH4)2SO4 used as soil fertilizer.
This study was conducted to determine the incorporation of 15nitrogen (15N) into liver and kidney of a group of rats (N = 17) fed a mixture of cooked rice and beans for 4 weeks. The beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), grown in soil cultivated with (15NH4)2SO4, had 1.5% 15N enrichment. Three or four rats were sacrificed weekly and a control group (N = 13) received an isonitrogen and isocaloric reference casein diet. ⋯ The total nitrogen content of the liver and kidney of rats receiving the reference casein control diet was similar to that of the rice/beans animals. Weight gain was similar for the two groups, indicating the well-balanced biological value of the experimental diet. The present study shows that it is possible to monitor 15N incorporation into beans and subsequently into rat liver and kidney, in contrast to classical methods for protein metabolism evaluation which measure only total body nitrogen intake and excretion or weight gain.