[Utilization of excess phenylalanine in the diet of rats to obtain an experimental model of phenylketonuria].

An excess of phenylalanine in the diet of rats was found to produce toxic action, especially strongly pronounced in animals receiving low-protein ration. A protein-rich diet is shown to produce a definite protective effect in acute poisoning with phenylalanine. In the blood and hepatic tissue of rats receiving for 15-30 days a diet containing 24 per cent of caseine and 7 per cent of phenylalanine there occurred a marked disproportion of free amino acids, i.e. a state of endogenous amino acids imbalance. The nature of biochemical disorders arising in the blood of these animals essentially differs from changes characteristic of the blood of the children suffering from phenylketonuria.