1.The anthropometric measurements and neurointegrative performance of seventy-nine children aged 6–12 years who had survived kwashiorkor in early childhood were compared to those of 142 children who served as controls.

2. For the boys the differences in height and weight between those who had survived protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and the controls were significant (P < 0.01).

3. For the girls the differences in height and weight between those who had survived PEM and the controls were not significant.

4. In the tests chosen, the performances of the survivors of PEM was significantly poorer than that of the controls.

5. There was no improvement in the performance when thirteen survivors were reassessed at 10 years of age.

6. There was a significant difference in scholastic performance between the survivors of PEM and the normal controls. The scholastic performance of the siblings of PEM survivors was also significantly better than that of the PEM survivors.

7. The dietary intakes at the time of reassessment were unsatisfactory in 25% of the survivors, but did not relate to their scholastic abilities.

1. A new apparatus is described with which it is possible to measure the volume (and hence density) of obese patients without requiring them to immerse totally in water. Replicate measurements of subjects with 6, 23 and 38 kg body fat had a standard deviation not greater than 0.3 kg fat.

2. In nineteen obese women body fat was measured by density, total body water, and total body potassium at the beginning, and again at the end, of a period of 3–4 weeks on a reducing diet, during which they lost 5.43 (SD 1.83) kg in weight. The composition of weight loss was also estimated both by energy balance and nitrogen balance during the interval between the two measurements of body composition.

3. The estimates of fat content of the nineteen women at the start of the balance period were 45.63 (SD 14.50)kg by density, 48.07 (SD 13.88) kg by K and 47.09 (SD 13.85) kg by water. The correlation coefficient between the density and K estimate was 0–949, and for the density and water estimate it was 0.971.

4. It is concluded that measurement of density by the new method provides a convenient method for estimating body fatness, and change in fat content, which compares favourably with estimates based on total body water or total body K. However, these methods cannot be used to provide an accurate estimate of the composition of a small weight loss in an individual since deviations up to 4 kg fat occur between fat loss based on change in density and those based on the more reliable (but more tedious) energy balance method.

1. Groups of lean and genetically obese (ob/ob) mice were adapted to varying energy intakes and the rates of total protein turnover in liver, gut and kidney were measured.

2. Lean mice gained less weight when fed above maintenance and lost less weight when fed below maintenance than obese mice.

3. Hepatic protein turnover (mg/d) was sigmoidally related to digestible energy intake in lean mice but showed no significant changes with dietary intake in obese mice.

4. The changes in protein turnover resulted from changes in both the half-lives of protein synthesis and catabolism and in tissue protein content.

5. In the lean mice, protein turnover in kidney and gut was not significantly changed with increasing energy intake until the highest level was reached.

6. The findings suggest that protein turnover may be an important cycle for the regulation of energy balance in mice and that this cycle is impaired in the genetically obese (ob/ob) mice.

1. Erythrocyte, plasma and whole blood selenium concentrations and glutathione peroxidase (EC I.11. 1.9; GSHPx) activities were measured (1) in 104 healthy New Zealand residents living in Otago, a low-soil-Se area (2) in sixty-four surgical patients, including nineteen patients on total parenteral nutrition and twenty-three cancer patients (3) in fifty-two ‘overseas subjects’ (twenty-five visitors to Otago from outside New Zealand and twenty-seven Otago residents on return from overseas travel).

2. Blood Se concentrations reflected dietary Se intake; means for Otago patients, healthy subjects and overseas subjects were different (0043, 0.059, 0.136 μg Se/ml blood respectively) and mean for overseas residents was greater than for New Zealand overseas travellers.

3. Erythrocyte Se concentration was always greater than plasma Se, and plasma Se was a smaller pro- portion of erythrocyte Se for patients compared with the controls.

4. GSHPx activities were different in the three groups, and vaned directly with erythrocyte Se until a plateau was reached at approximately 0.14 μg Se/ml erythrocytes.

5. Overseas subjects showed no relationship between erythrocyte Se and GSHPx activity. This agrees with some overseas studies and the significance of this finding is discussed.

6. Plasma Se concentration remained the most sensitive index of short-term changes in Se status, and erythrocyte Se and GSHPx activities for long-term changes in New Zealand subjects. Use of these measure- ments for overseas subjects with higher blood levels is discussed.

1. The effects of feeding isolated saponins on plasma lipid concentrations and on concentrations of biliary and faecal bile acids and neutral sterols were studied in the rat.

2. The animals were given one of four diets, i.e. a standard low-cholesterol synthetic diet, the diet+10 g saponins/kg, the diet+10 g cholesterol/kg, the diet+10 g cholesterol+10 g saponins/kg.

3. Saponins partially reversed the hypercholesterolaemia caused by the high-cholesterol diet and increased both the rate of bile acid secretion and the faecal excretion of bile acids and neutral sterols. The proportionate contribution of the primary bile acids (particularly chenodeoxycholic) to faecal excretion was also increased by saponins.

4. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that saponins act by inducing the adsorption of bile acids by dietary fibre.

1. It is shown that a basal roughage diet can be successfully supplemented with glucose, as long as nitrogen is not limiting. Lack of N depresses the digestibility of the basal ration, results in incomplete fermentation and the increased recoveries of N are consistent with fixation of atmospheric N2.

2. Using a complex, but soluble supplement (whey powder) it is shown that reproducible incremental measurements can be made and that the supplement used gives increases in production of characteristic end-products only (carbon dioxide, methane, acetic and butyric acids).

3. The location of the solid dietary components within the reaction vessel is not important and it is possible to measure changes in a particular component in the presence of others. It is shown that there is sequestration of bacteria and protozoa on the solid digesta.

1. The role of soluble nutrients and of the solid matrix in rumen fermentation was investigated in some detail, and experiments designed to explore the possibility of using a balanced soluble diet and an inert solid matrix, are described.

2. The use of a balanced soluble substrate as the only source of nutrients in the presence of an inert solid phase in the reaction vessels results in vigorous fermentation but is accompanied by disappearance of protozoa from the effluent.

3. In the absence of digestible solid phase, the rate of fermentation and the fermentation pattern depends mainly on the amount and type of nutrients supplied and to a smaller extent on the dilution rate, the variations being greatest at low dilution rates.

4. The solid matrix in the form of wood shavings or the residue remaining after prolonged digestion of hay could sequestrate micro-organisms and could be used as solid phase, but the defined mixture of soluble substrates used resulted in somewhat abnormal fermentation compared with fermentation obtained with solid food.

5. When the solid food included some hay extract and when the dilution rate was not too great a reduced output of protozoa could be maintained. At high dilution rate the outflow of protozoa was negligible and yet considerable numbers of protozoa were found in the solid matrix and associated liquid.

6. A three-compartment model was developed to describe the flow of liquid and microbial matter within the simplified system.

1. Distribution of Nτ-methylhistidine (3-methylhistidine; Me-His) among organs and tissues in cattle was determined. From the amount of Me-His in skeletal muscle protein and daily urinary output of Me-His, fractional catabolic and synthetic rates of myofibrillar proteins of skeletal muscle during growth were calculated.

2. More than 93.4% of the total Me-His (35.6 mg/kg body-weight) in the analysed cattle tissues occurred in skeletal muscle protein. The amount of Me-His in tissues other than skeletal muscle was relatively small. Daily urinary excretion of Me-His in the cattle which were fed on hay and concentrate was 135 mg at a growing stage of 217 kg body-weight and 145 mg at a stage of 312 kg. The Me-His content of foodstuffs was also carefully checked in the present investigation. Assuming that absorbed dietary Me-His in quantitatively excreted in the urine without delay, the contribution of Me-His in foodstuffs was calculated to be approximately 30 % of the urinary Me-His. Rumen protozoa and bacteria contained little Me-His.

3. From these results, fractional catabolic and synthetic rates of myofibrillar proteins of the cattle at a growing stage of 217 kg body-weight were calculated to be 1.22%/d (half-life 56 d) and 2.73%/d, while these rates at a stage of 312 kg body-weight were 1.02%/d (half-life 67 d) and 1.51%/d respectively. These values were calculated on the same assumptions as those for the rat (Young et al. 1972; Funabiki et al. 1976). Of the Me-His present in foodstuffs 94% was tentatively assumed to be excreted into urine.

1. Two experiments are reported. In both experiments a cereal-based diet containing 5 mg copper/kg was fed to two breeds of laying hens for 336 d. In Expt I four other groups were given this diet with the addition of CuSO4.5H2O to give added levels of 200, 400, 600 and 800 mg Cu/kg diet. In Expt 2 the levels of added dietary Cu used were 100, 200, 300 and 400 mg/kg.

2. In Expt I records were kept of food intake, water intake, body-weight and egg production for eight 28 d periods and body-weight and egg number only were recorded for the full twelve periods. In Expt 2 full records, excluding water intake, were taken for all twelve periods.

3. Food and water intake showed a quadratic response to level of added dietary Cu, being enhanced at lower levels and depressed at higher levels of addition.

4. There was a quadratic response of total egg weight, mean egg weight and egg number to added dietary Cu. In Expt I egg number was maximum at 235 mg added Cu/kg diet for Warren Studler SSL (breed I) and at 170 mg added Cu/kg diet for Shaver 288 (breed 2). In Expt 2 no breed effect occurred, the maximum egg number being calculated to occur at 176 mg added Cu/kg diet.

5. Depression of body-weight gain occurred at high lelvels of Cu addition. The depression of liver and oviduct weight found at high levels of addition appeared to be directly related to body-weight. A marked amount of feather loss also occurred at a high inclusion of CuSO4 in the diet.

6. The reproductive systems of the hens did not appear to be adversely affected at the levels of additive used. Gross and microscopic examination of specific tissues revealed no pathological effects although gizzard and intestinal weights were increased and caecal weight decreased by high levels of added Cu. Those aspects of the blood chemistry examined did not reveal any consistent effect between the two experiments.

7. The liver Cu analyses indicate that between 600 and 800 mg added Cu/kg diet liver Cu concentration rises sharply. Both liver Fe and Zn concentrations showed a positive linear response to added dietary Cu. In the kidney Cu and Zn concentrations were increased but only to a limited extent, while the concentration of Fe was unaffected.

1. Seventeen pigs were fitted with single re-entrant cannulas in either the duodenum (posterior to the entry of the bile and pancreativ ducts), the mid-jejunum, or the terminal ileum. A further twenty-four pigs were used in a conventional digestibility trial.

2. Three diets were used: these contained barley, fine wheat offal, white fish meal, minerals and vitamins (diet BWF); starch, sucrose, maize oil, cellulose, minerals, vitamins and either groundnut meal (diet SSG) or casein (diet SSC).

3. The quantities of total carbohydrate (TC), total reducing substances (TRS) and glucose (G) passing through the re-entrant cannulas and excreted in the faeces in 24 h were measured. These were used to determine the net absorption of the carbohydrate fractions in the different regions of the intestine.

4. The small intestine was the principal site of absorption of TC, TRS and G, but there were differences between the diets in the quantities of each of these carbohydrate fractions that were absorbed in the different regions of the small intestine studied.

5. The quantities of TRS and G in solution were very low for all diets at all sites, indicating that the rate of absorption of the products of hydrolysis kept pace with their rate of formation.

1. Seventeen pigs fitted with single re-entrant cannulas in either the duodenum (posterior to the point of entry of the bile and pancreatic ducts), the mid-jejunum, or the terminal ileum, and a further twenty-four non-cannulated pigs were used.

2. Three diets were used: these contained barley, fine wheat offal, white fish meal, minerals and vitamins (diet BWF); starch, sucrose, maize oil, cellulose, minerals, vitamins and either groundnut meal (diet SSG) or casein (diet SSC).

3. The quantities of total lipid (TL), acid-detergent fibre (ADF) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) passing through the re-entrant cannulas and excreted in the faeces in 24 h were measured. These were used to determine the net absorption (or synthesis or secretion) in the different regions of the intestine.

4. There was substantial secretion of TL into the proximal small intestine and major absorption from the distal portion for all three diets. In the large intestine there was little or no further net absorption for diets SSG and SSC, but significant synthesis or secretion for diet BWF.

5. Fibre digestion occurred in both the small and large intestines and the apparent absorption of ADF in the different regions studied was influenced by diet.

6. There were detectable amounts of VFA at all sites but only at the ileum and in the faeces could they be accurately measured. Diet did not affect the molar proportions of acetate, propionate and butyrate in ileal digesta, but did have an effect on these VFA in the faeces.

1. The effects of supplementation of a cellulose-based diet with either urea, casein or formaldehydetreated (HCHO)-casein were studied in growing lambs. Responses were measured in terms of growth rate, food intake and food conversion ratio.

2. In Expt 1 lambs were given free access to a basal diet containing (g/kg) oat-hulls (700) and solka floc (300) (containing 5 g nitrogen/kg dry matter (DM)) supplemented (g/kg basal diet) with either urea (25), untreated casein (75), HCHO-casein (75) or combinations of these. Food intake was increased on average by 27% above that on the basal diet by the addition of either urea, casein, HCHO-casein plus urea. Urea plus HCHO-casein when given as a combined supplement further increased food intake on average by 60% above that on the basal diet. Supplements of either urea, casein, HCHO-casein or casein or casein plus urea changed a mean live-weight loss of 40 g/d on the basal diet to a mean live-weight gain of 56 g/d. Urea plus HCHO-casein further increased lamb growth to 112 g/d.

3. In Expt 2 lambs were given free access to the basal diet (plus 25 g urea/kg diet) used in Expt I. In this experiment the content of insoluble and soluble casein in the diets was varied by the addition of HCHO-casein and untreated casein of 0, 150; 50, 100; 100, 50 and 150, o g/kg basal diet respectively. Maximum lamb growth (141 g/d) was obtained with a supplement of 25 g urea plus 100 g HCHO-casein and 50 g casein/kg.

4. The growth responses to these supplements suggest a requirement for soluble N by the rumen microorganisms to maximize rumen fermentation, and for maximum growth rate on this diet a further requirement for amino acids produced by protein which has escaped degradation in the rumen.

5. Fermentation and the absorption of nutrients were examined in Expt 3 in lambs fitted with simple ‘T’-shaped cannula in the duodenum and ileum, and fed ad lib. one of the diets: a basal diet of oat hulls and solka floc, or the basal diet supplemented (g/kg) with either urea (25), urea plus casein (150), or urea (25) plus HCHO-casein (150). The rates of production of volatile fatty acids (VFA), methane and microbial cells were measured using isotope-dilution techniques. The apparent absorption of nutrients was determined by differences in the quantity of those nutrients in digesta at the duodenum and ileum.

6. Supplements of urea, urea plus casein and urea plus HCHO-casein increased organic matter (OM) intake in lambs by 65% above that on the basal diet. OM digestibility was unchanged by the from of nitrogen supplementation. The rates of production of all fermentation end-products varied directly with voluntary food intake.

7. Rumen methane production remained constant at 0.09 mol methane/MJ metabolizable energy (ME) intake on all diets, which represented an 11% loss of digestible energy (DE). Hindgut methane production was highest on the urea-supplemented diet.

8. The rate of VFA production (mol/MJ ME intake) in the rumen was highest on the diet supplemented with urea in comparison with the basal, urea plus casein and urea plus HCHO-casein diets (which were not significantly different). The molar proportions of the individual VFA in rumen fluid were not significantly different between diets except for the branched chain and higher fatty acids which were highest in proportion with the urea plus casein diet.

9. The loss of energy in the faeces, urine or as methane in expired air was not influenced by the form of N supplementation. DE and ME were greater on the supplemented diets, as a result of the increased OM intake of these diets.

10. There was no effect of the form of N supplementation on OM digested in the rumen, small intestine or large intestine. Of an increase in OM intake, apparently 55% was digested in the rumen (of which 19% was incorporated into rumen micro-organisms) and 26% disappeared in the small intestines. The apparent digestibility of OM for all diets was 0.67.

1. Lambs with cannulas in the duodenum and ileum were allowed free access to one of four diets: a basal diet of oat hulls and solka floc, or the basal diet supplemented with either urea, urea plus casein or urea plus formaldehyde-treated (HCHO)-casein. Mean nitrogen intake was 1.9 g N/d for the basal diet and 15.0, 32.4 and 36.9 g N/d respectively for the other diets.

2. The rate of irreversible loss of ammonia from the rumen pool estimated using 15NH+4 was highest on the casein diet (33 g NH3-N/d) by comparison with 18 g NH3-N/d for the urea and HCHO-casein diets and 7 g NH3-N/d for the basal diet.

3. The proportions of bacterial and protozoal N in the rumen derived from rumen ammonia did not differ significantly between the supplemented diets and were 0.66 and 0.52 respectively.

4. Estimation of 15N flowing to the duodenum during continuous infusions of 15NH+4 into the rumen indicated considerable ammonia absorption from the rumen on all the diets. Greatest absorption of ammonia (21 g N/d) apparently occurred in animals on the diet supplemented with urea and casein.

5. The estimated microbial non-ammonia-N (NAN) flowing out of the rumen per unit organic matter fermented in the rumen (FOM) was similar on all diets, i.e. 21.3 (±1.09) g N/kg FOM. The requirement for dietary fermentable N for microbial N production on these diets was 1.2 (±0.07) g N/MJ ME.

6. The flow of NAN into the duodenum and throught the ileum, and total N in the faeces was significantly influenced by the form of N supplementation. The flow of NAN into the duodenum for the HCHO-casein diet (27 g N/d) was more than twice that for the other diets (11 g N/d). The flow of NAN through the ileum and excretion of total N in the faeces was also greater with the HCHO-casein diet than with all other diets. The apparent digestibility of NAN in the small intestine ranged between 0.62–0.66 for all diets.

7. Urea and casein supplements were apparently completely degraded in the rumen. In contrast, the HCHO-casein was almost completely resistant to degradation in the rumen and only 65% of the HCHO-casein was digested in the small intestine.

8. Protein absorbed: energy absorbed (expressed as NAN digested in the small intestine/MJ ME) was calculated to be 5.5 (±0.70) for the basal, urea and urea-plus-casein diets, and 11.6 (±1.71) for the urea-plus-HCHO-casein diet.

1. Polyethyleneglycol (PEG 4000) was examined for its influence on relative nutritional value (RNV) and available methionine in sorghum (Sorghum ulgare Pers.), field beans (Vicia faba L.) and barley, as measured microbiologically with Streptococcus zymogenes. The results were assessed in relation to the content of tannins in the test samples.

2. In grain of hybrid sorghum the RNV averaged 87 (range 79–92) for six low-tannin varieties and 41 (30–53) for eleven high-tannin varieties. The corresponding available methionine values averaged 17.0 (15.7–18.9) and 8.9 (6.7–11.0) g/kg protein. Addition of PEG 4000 to the test samples increased the average RNV of the high-tannin varieties from 41 to 78, and the average available methionine content from 8.9 to 16.2 g/kg protein.

3. With seed of ten coloured-flowered varieties of field beans, treatment with PEG gave a small but consistent increase in the available methionine content, which resulted from the inactivation of tannins in the testa.

4. In twenty-three samples of barley grain, treatment with PEG had no effect on the values obtained for available methionine.

5. Treatment of high-tannin sorghum grain with ammonia has been reported to inactivate the tannins and increase the nutritional value for rats and chicks. This finding was confirmed. The present study showed that ammonia and PEG 4000 were equally effective in enhancing the nutritional quality as measured in the microbiological tests.

1. Two preceding papers in this series describe the application of microbiological and other in vitro tests in the evaluation of sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.), field beans (Vicia faba L.) and barley, and in assessing the influence of polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000) on the nutritional availability of the methionine. The present paper gives for comparison the results of bioassays on some of the same test samples. Net protein utilization (NPU) in rats was measurd by the nitrogen balance method, and N digestibility in chickens by the ileal analysis procedure.

2. In rat tests on sorghum, N in grain of high-tannin varieties was poorly digested. Supplementation of the test diets with 0.1 g PEG 4000/g protein gave a large improvement, which was partly offset by an apparent decrease in biological value (BV). With chickens N digestibility was even lower, and was similarly improved with PEG 4000. Treatment of high-tannin grain with ammonia solution was also effective in improving N digestibility.

3. With low-tannin sorghum the amino acid digestibilities were uniformly high and were not affected by addition of PEG to the test diet. With high-tannin sorghums they were low and less uniform, and were much improved by PEG 4000.

4. With field beans, the influence of the seed-coat tannin on protein utilization was much less pronounced than with sorghum. In chickens there was a significant effect (P < 0.05) of PEG 4000 on N digestibility in a high-tannin variety. With rats the effect was smaller and not significant.

5. In four samples of barley, N digestibility was high (0.87–0.96) and was not further improved by PEG 4000. The BV of a high-lysine cultivar proved marginally inferior to that of a normal variety. Possible reasons for this are discussed.

6. Over all, the results were closely consistent with those from microbiological tests with Streptococcus zymogenes.

1. Glucose entry rates were measured with [2−3H]glucose in groups of cattle given sugar-cane diets and between o and 1200 g rice polishings.

2. In the first experiment measurements of glucose metabolism were estimated in four animals (one of each being given 0, 400, 600 and 1000 g supplement) over 24 h using a repeated single injection at 6 h intervals and sampling blood for 3 h.

3. The results indicated that in a short time period of each isotope experiment relatively steady-state conditions existed since the plot of log specific radioactivity v. time was linear with a high correlation coefficient.

4. The pattern of glucose entry rates was variable over the 24 h period being highest shortly after feeding and then declining to quite low levels immediately before the next feed, 24 h later. However, the more rice polishings that were made available to the cattle, the higher the glucose entry rate at 4–7 h, and it remained higher for a longer time.

5. In the second experiment with nineteen animals there was a linear relationship between the glucose entry rate (measured 4–7 h after feeding) and the amount of rice polishings consumed by the animal.

6. The results suggest that glucose is being made available in quite large quantities from the supplement. Using the means of these estimates over 24 h to predict glucose entry rate on a daily basis, it is suggested that at least 50% of the starch in the rice polishings was made available to the animal as glucose.

7. The results are discussed in relation to the suggestion that the availability of glucose may be limiting nutrient in cattle given low-protein diets.