Minimum and optimum physiological doses of egg albumin and mutton protein in newly weaned rats.

Using diets with a mounting egg albumin and mutton protein concentration, the authors determined the optimum physiological doses, which are identical with the maximum of linearity of the given parameters, from changes in body nitrogen, body weight and body water. The regression equations of the lines from these parameters were used to determine the minimum physiological doses for newly weaned rats. The optimum and minimum physiological doses of the amino acids in the relevant dietary proteins were also determined by analysing the source for its nitrogen content and other components and for the amino acid spectrum. The optimum dose of egg albumin protein for newly weaned rats was 1.69 g/day (on a 15% protein diet) and of mutton protein 2.56 g/day (on a 12.5% protein diet), with daily amounts of 60 mg methionine, 93 mg phenylalanine, 112 mg valine and 60 mg tyrosine for both proteins. The minimum doses of egg albumin and mutton protein, determined from changes in body nitrogen were 282 mg and 213 mg/day respectively [methionine 10.4 (4.7) mg/day, phenylalanine 16.1 (7.5) mg/day, valine 19.1 (9.2) mg/day and tyrosine 9.8 (5.2) mg/day)].