1. Albino rats were fed on diets containing 30, 120 or 200 g protein/kg with or without the incorporation of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) or hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) at 100 mg/kg diet for 4 weeks.

2. The activities of the liver microsomal enzymes NADPH-cytochrome reductase (EC 1.6.2.4), flavoprotein- linked monooxygenase (EC 1.14.14.1)and O-demethylase were significantly greater in animals fed on 120 and 200 g protein/kg diet compared with those fed on 30 g protein/kg diet.

3. The inclusion of DDT or HCH at all protein intakes led to further significant rises in microsomal enzyme activities but the increases were much greater for animals receiving the 120 and 200 g protein/kg diets than for those receiving the 30 g protein/kg diet.

4. The results imply that detoxification of DDT or HCH was carried out more effectively at the higher protein intakes.

1. Sixty marasmic children were investigated for the absorption of xylose, proteins and fats. Their duodenal juice samples were also analysed for bile salts and microflora.

2. The marasmic children were then studied in three groups of twenty by allocating them to three different dietary schedules: a high-protein diet (30% of the total energy from protein), a high-fat diet (40% of the total energy from fat) and a high-carbohydrate diet (70% of the total energy from carbohydrate) for 2 weeks and the previous measurements repeated.

3. Whereas the high-fat diet resulted in improved fat absorption, along with an increase in total and conjugated bile acids, and the high-carbohydrate diet led to improved xylose absorption, the diet rich in protein resulted in an improvement in the absorption of all three dietary ingredients. It appears that a high-protein diet improves the overall absorption process by improving the intestinal environment as a whole, while high-carbohydrate and high-fat diets bring about adaptive changes related to the respective absorptive processes.

1. The proteins binding retinol, and retinol concentrations, were determined in amniotic fluid, placental cytosol and in the fetal and maternal circulation.

2. In non-pregnant women, plasma retinol was almost exclusively found in a transthyretin-retinol-binding-protein complex whereas, in pregnant women, retinol-binding-protein-bound retinol was observed not complexed to transthyretin. This latter fraction increased in concentration with fetal age. These two fractions were the major retinol-protein complexes in amniotic fluid and their relative amounts changed with progress of gestation.

3. In fetal blood both of these fractions were again found, with higher proportions of retinol-binding- protein-bound retinol in the umbilical artery than in the umbilical vein.

1. The availability of iron, zinc and calcium in a diet containing 400 g ‘fibre-filler’ (a mixture of bran, fruit and nuts, used in the F-plan diet)/kg diet (HF diet) was measured by whole-body counting in rats, using 59Fe, 66Zn and 47Ca as extrinsic labels, and compared with a diet of similar mineral content but no ‘fibre-filler’ (LF diet). Absorption of Fe and Ca was significantly higher from the HF than from the LF diet but there was no difference in Zn availability between the two diets.

2. The ability of rats given LF or HF diets for 3 or 28 d to absorb Fe, Zn and Ca was measured using ferrous sulphate, zinc chloride and calcium chloride in a cooked starch-sucrose (1: 1 w/w) paste, extrinsically-labelled with the appropriate isotope. There was no difference in Fe absorption between the HF- and LF-fed groups but both Zn and Ca absorption were higher in LF- than in HF-fed animals after 3 and 28 d.

3. The mineral status of the animals given HF or LF diets for 28 d was examined, and there were no differences in blood haemoglobin, liver and bone Zn and plasma and bone Ca levels. The total liver Fe was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the HF-fed animals.

4. It was concluded that ‘fibre-filler’did not have an adverse effect on Fe, Zn or Ca metabolism in rats although the long-term effect on Fe status warrants more detailed investigation. Further work is required to extend these studies to man.

1. The claims that rats fed on diets with ‘brown sugar’ (unrefined muscovado) perform better in a number of ways than do rats fed on refined white sugar (sucrose) have been examined.

2. Male Wistar rats were fed on purified diets from weaning, in which the carbohydrate component was either maize starch or unrefined sugar or sucrose. The sugars produced no differences in growth rate, body composition, or the weights of liver or kidneys. Compared with sucrose, unrefined sugar produced an increase in blood cholesterol and in the activity of hepatic fatty acid synthetase, and a greater increase in blood triglyceride. In confirmation of earlier results, rats fed on either sugar had heavier livers and kidneys, increased activity of hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) and a higher concentration of plasma triglyceride compared with rats fed on maize starch.

3. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed on the same three diets as the male rats, and mated when they weighed about 200 g. No difference was seen in their ability to mate, the progress of pregnancies, or the sizes of the litters. Does fed on unrefined sugar produced litters of higher viability than did does fed on starch or sucrose. Survival was between 85 and 100% with unrefined sugar and between 30 and 75% with starch or sucrose.

4. Unrefined muscovado sugar has thus been shown to contain a factor required by female rats for the proper viability of their pups. This may be the same ‘Reproductive Factor R’ as that described by Wiesner & Yudkin (1951). In certain circumstances, unrefined muscovado sugar might therefore contribute to the nutritional value of a human diet, although in what circumstances, in what respect and to what extent it might do so, is by no means clear.

1. The present study was designed to use the factorial approach to estimate protein requirements of Nigerian male adults by measuring obligatory nitrogen losses via urine, faeces and sweat when N intake was very low and energy intake adequate.

2. Eight adult men from Osegere village near Ibadan and seven medical students from the University of Ibadan, who volunteered to participate as subjects in the study, were given a low-protein diet (based on staple foods habitually consumed by subjects) for 10 d. Mean daily total protein intake was 4.68 g while that of energy was 0.2 MJ/kg body-weight. After an initial 5 d adaptation period, 24 h urine and faeces were collected in marked containers for five consecutive days for N determination. N losses from the skin were also determined in the village adults.

3. Mean daily urinary, faecal and sweat N losses (mg N/kg body-weight) were 45.88 (SD 4.84), 21.79 (SD4.19), and 7.46 (SD1.71) from the village adults. The corresponding urinary and faecal N losses from the university students were 43.45 (SD 2.28) and 18.32 (SD4.66) (sweat N loss not measured). Thus the total daily obligatory N losses (per kg body-weight) from the village adults and university students were 75.13 and 69.23 mg N respectively (assuming a sweat N loss of 7.46 mg for the university students). After adjusting for requirement and making a 30% allowance for individual variability, the safe level of protein intake was calculated to be 0.78 and 0.73 g protein/kg body-weight for the village men and university students respectively.

4. These values suggest that the Joint FAO/WHO ad hoc Expert Committee (1973) safe allowance of 0.57 g egg protein/kg per d is not sufficient for most young adults in this environment when energy intake is adequate.

1. A high incidence of vitamin B12 or folate deficiency, or both, may be found in the elderly, particularly those in hospital. This report concerns fifty cases detected in an inner-city-area geriatric unit during the course of routine clinical investigation. The majority had none of the classical haematological signs of vitamin B12 or folate deficiency, and all the patients reported had a mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of less than 100 fl.

2. There was a significant negative correlation between the MCV and the erythrocyte folate (P< 0.01), supporting earlier published work using a low serum folate as an index of folate deficiency.

3. There was no correlation between the MCV and the serum vitamin B12. Published work differs on this point.

4. Serum iron, total Fe-binding capacity and percentage Fe saturation results were available in forty patients in this series. There was a significant positive correlation between the serum Fe and the MCV (P<0.01) and 34% of patients had haematological evidence of Fe deficiency. In the majority, however, there was no evidence that associated Fe deficiency had masked the haematological signs of vitamin B12 or folate deficiency.

5. More attention should be paid to the problem of ‘masked’ vitamin B12 and folate deficiency in the elderly. There is a case for routine screening of the elderly for vitamin B12 and folate deficiency irrespective of the MCV.

1. Metabolism, in broiler chicks, of DL-2-hydroxy 4-methylthiobutanoic acid (DL-HMB), DL-methionine and L-methionine was compared in vivo using 14C-labelled tracers.

2. The distribution of L-[1-14C]methionine and DL-[1-14C]HMB in the major body tissues was examined for a period of 120 min after administration.

3. The relative oxidation (14CO2, exhaled), excretion and incorporation into tissue protein of L-[l-14C]methionine, DL-[l-14C]methionine and DL-[1-14C]HMB were measured in fed birds.

4. Tissue distribution of L-[1-14C]methionine and DL-[1-14C]HMB differed during 60–90 min following administration.

5. The production of 14CO2, from each of the tracers was similar but excretion of 14C-labelled material was very different with the greatest excretion from DL-[1-14C]HMB and the least from L[1-14C]methionine.

6. The incorporation of 14C into tissue proteins varied with the tracer given and the tissue examined. Liver and kidney had equivalent incorporation from each of the tracers while other tissues examined showed lower incorporation from DL-[1-14C]methionine and DL-[1-14C]HMB.

7. The results show that DL-HMB, D-methionine and L-methionine are metabolized differently in vivo and that they are excreted in differing proportions. There is also a difference in the ability of each to act as a precursor for protein synthesis in tissues other than liver.

1. The fermentative breakdown of one resistant type of dietary fibre (wheat bran) and one easily-fermented fibre (low-methoxyl pectin) was studied with respect to the length of the adaptation period and fibre level in the diet. The breakdown of the resistant fibre was also studied regarding the protein level in the diet and particle size of the fibre.

2. Prolongation of the adaptation period from 4 to 18 d decreased the faecal dry weight considerably. The excretion of dietary fibre however, was similar, whereas a decrease in faecal nitrogen excretion could be seen.

3. A level of dietary protein of less than 50 g/kg impaired the fermentation of wheat-bran fibre, whereas a level higher than 100 g protein/kg did not further increase the degree of fermentation of the fibre.

4. The particle size did not change the fermentability of the fibre, equal amounts of the main components of coarse and milled bran being excreted in faeces.

5. Two different levels of wheat-bran fibre (48 and 96 g/kg) in the diet did not influence the fibre breakdown. Similar results were obtained with two levels of fibre from low-methoxyl pectin (42 and 84 g/kg), but a tendency towards a decreased percentage of faecal excretion of uronic acids was seen at the lower level of low-methoxyl pectin.

1. Over- or undernutrition of newborn mice was caused by suckling in litters consisting initially of four or eighteen pups. After weaning, mice were fed ad lib. At 13 weeks some mice received gold thioglucose (GTG, 600 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) to induce hyperphagia, and all were killed at 39 weeks.

2. Mice suckled in small litters were heavier, with more body fat and protein. GTG treatment induced rapid weight gain and treated mice from large litters were heavier than untreated mice from small litters. However, the effect of litter size was not totally removed since GTG-treated small-litter mice were heavier than GTG-treated large-litter mice and had more fat, although body protein was not different.

3. Fat distribution between the depots was related to total body fatness and not to the treatment.

4. In male mice, preweaning undernutrition resulted in smaller fat depots containing smaller cells. GTG treatment of large-litter mice restored both to the levels found in small-litter mice: the depots of the latter mice were not significantly different after treatment.

5. In female mice, preweaning undernutrition resulted not only in smaller depots and cells but also fewer cells in all depots except mesenteric. GTG-treatment caused larger depots and cells in all mice with no difference in cell size whether mice were from large or small litters. The number of cells in the perirenal and mesenteric depots was greater in GTG-treated mice and was the same whether mice were from large or small litters.

6. We conclude that the level of preweaning nutrition does not affect the ability of adipose tissue to develop subsequently through hypertrophy or hyperplasia of the adipocytes or both, given a sufficient energy surplus consisting of normal pelleted feed, low in lipid.

1. Studies of whole-body balances of non-metabolizable base (NB) and several minerals, and of relevant acid-base quantities in blood and urine, were carried out in two 6-month-old ruminating Holstein × Friesian bull calves fed on fixed rations containing 500 g barley straw/kg diet (group A) to examine the quantitatively important components of the balance of NB and determine the rates of mineral and NB retention associated with normal body growth.

2. Parallel balance studies were conducted in six other bull calves given fixed rations containing 500 g alkali-treated barley straw/kg diet to evaluate the effects of long-term alkali-straw feeding on the rates of body growth and skeletal mineral and NB deposition and the renal control of extracellular electrolyte and acid-base status. The straw component was treated either with 50 g sodium hydroxide/kg dry matter (DM) (group B; two calves), or with 50 g or 100 g NaOH/kg DM and subsequently neutralized with hydrochloric acid (groups C and D; two calves per group). In all groups the animals were given free access to tap water.

3. Throughout the total 105 d experiment, all animals remained healthy and gained weight. Normal body growth (group A) was associated with a positive balance of NB (1–2 mmol/kg live weight (LW) per d) due to continuing deposition of dietary NB in ‘new tissue’, largely in the developing skeleton.

4. During 105 d alkali-straw feeding, the animals showed a remarkable ability to cope with dietary loads of NaOH or sodium chloride, up to about 30 mmol/kg LW per d, without any significant disturbance of extracellular acid-base and electrolyte status or body growth rate. The surplus mineral and NB loads were absorbed and subsequently excreted in an increased volume of urine. Rates of mineral and NB retention were not significantly different from the reference values of group A and remained within the range of values reported from similar studies. In all groups, maintenance of normal whole blood and plasma acid-base and electrolyte status was accounted for by efficient renal control of the composition of the extracellular fluid compartment.

1. The cell-wall material of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) cotyledon is characterized by low contents of cellulose (47 g/kg) and lignin (17 g/kg) and a high content of pectic substances (710 g/kg). The digestion of lupin cell-wall material by adult cockerels was estimated using gas-liquid chromatographic analyses of alditol acetates derived from polysaccharide sugars. The analyses were performed in the destarched water-insoluble fractions of feed and excreta. Digestibility measurements were carried out using a 3 d balance period including a 2 d feeding period and a 24 h final starvation period.

2. In the first experiment, six animals were given a diet containing 510 g white lupin cotyledon flour/kg which was the only source of protein and cell walls in the diet. The apparent digestibility of cell-wall components was near zero.

3. In the second experiment, three diets were prepared by diluting a fibre-free basal diet (diet A) by a semi-purified cell-wall preparation introduced at two different levels: 100 g/kg (diet B) and 200 g/kg (diet C). The semi-purified cell walls were prepared from the white lupin cotyledon flour used in the first experiment. The true digestibilities of polysaccharides measured in birds given diets B and C were near zero. It is suggested that the measurement of the neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) content according to Van Soest & Wine (1967) is not a suitable procedure for estimating the undigestible fibre content in poultry nutrition as the cell-wall pectic substances are not included in the NDF measurement.

4. Addition of the semi-purified cell-wall preparation (Expt 2) resulted in a slight decrease in the apparent protein digestibility. This decrease might be explained by the addition of undigestible cell-wall protein.

5. Addition of the semi-purified cell-wall preparation (Expt 2) had no effect on the apparent lipid digestibility.

6. The metabolizable energy values of the basal diet fraction of diets B and C were calculated assuming that the added plant cell-wall fraction was of no energy value. These calculated values were similar to the measured metabolizable energy value of diet A (basal). Thus, the tested pectic plant cell walls seemed to act as a diluent. It is suggested that, on the point of the digestion yields, all types of plant cell walls would act as diluents, in poultry.

1. The effects on growth performance, energy and nitrogen retention, and leucine metabolism of a subcutaneous combined implant of 140 mg trenbolone acetate (TBA)+20 mg oestradiol-17β (OE) have been examined in Hereford × Friesian beef steers (280–520 kg). Comparisons were made both with the same animals before implantation and with untreated control animals maintained under similar physiological and nutritional conditions.

2. Over a 10 week period the implanted steers showed an improvement in rate of live-weight gain (LWG) of 0.5–0.6 with an even greater proportional increase in N retention compared with control animals. Total energy retention was unaffected and thus the ratio, protein energy: total energy gain was 0.43 for implanted steers compared with 0.26 for untreated animals.

3. Estimates of protein synthesis and protein oxidation were obtained from the specific radioactivities of blood free-leucine and exhaled carbon dioxide during continuous infusions of [1-14C]leucine. Whole-body protein synthesis, based on metabolic size, and amino acid fractional oxidation remained similar for control steers throughout the experiment. Steroid-treated steers showed a slight decline in synthesis which was significant (P < 0.05) at week + 5 post-implant while amino acid oxidation was significantly lower at weeks +2 (P < 0.01) and + 5 (P < 0.05) compared with control animals. The ratio, protein deposition: protein synthesis was 0.05 for control animals but 0.08–0.10 for steroid-treated animals after implantation.

4. There was a slight decrease in urinary NT-methylhistidine elimination after implantation which suggested that muscle protein degradation may be reduced although the estimated decrease was insufficient to account for the total improvement in growth rate and N retention.

5. The results suggest that for both control and treated steers, less than 0.5 of total urine N elimination was derived directly from tissue catabolism of protein and amino acids.

6. The combined action of the exogenous steroids in the promotion of protein gain, primarily through a decrease in total protein degradation with little alteration of total energy retention, is compared with present understanding of the role of the endogenous sex hormones.

1. To elucidate the causal relation between leucine and the lowering of hepatic NAD content of rats fed on a leucine-excessive diet (Yamada et al. 1979), the effect of leucine on intestinal absorption of tryptophan was investigated.

2. Co-administration of [3H]tryptophan and leucine, with leucine at ten times the level of tryptophan, delayed absorption of L-[side chain 2,3-3H]tryptophan from the digestive tract and incorporation of [3H]tryptophan into portal blood, the liver and a protein fraction of the liver. After 120 min, more than 95% of tryptophan was absorbed whether [3H]tryptophan was administered with or without leucine.

3. Co-administration of a mixture of ten essential amino acids, in proportions simulating casein, with [3H]tryptophan markedly delayed absorption of tryptophan from the digestive tract. The addition of supplementary leucine to the amino acid mixture, however, caused no further delay.

4. In rats prefed a leucine-excessive diet for 1 week [3H]tryptophan was absorbed at the same rate as in rats fed on a control diet.

5. The results indicate that competition between tryptophan and leucine for intestinal absorption did not cause lowering of hepatic NAD.

1. Mixed-breed wethers (40–50 kg), 9 months old, were maintained on high-energy (HED) and low-energy (LED) diets for 2 weeks.

2. After a 15 h fast, a primed-dose constant infusion of L-[U-14C]leucine and α-[4,5-3H]ketoisocaproate (KIC) was given.

3. After 2 h, plasma samples were taken and plasma-specific radioactivities of I4C- and 3H-labelled leucine and KIC were measured and analysed by using an open two-pool model.

4. Less than 20% of the total leucine-C entering the circulation was converted to the KIC pool, and 42% of the KIC was converted back to the leucine pool; transamination of the leucine to KIC and reamination of KIC to leucine was much less than in other species.

5. Additional dietary energy resulted in a decrease in tissue protein synthesis, leucine oxidation and interconversion of leucine and KIC. Total leucine-C entry was also lower in sheep given HED, which was most likely due to a suppression of endogenous proteolysis.

6. Plasma glucagon concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in sheep given LED compared with those given HED. The concentration of glucagon was closely correlated in all treatments with the leucine-C entry (proteolysis + absorbed leucine) and also with KIC-C exit (oxidation).

1. Concentrations of magnesium in plasma, the ionic concentration in rumen digesta supernatant fractions, Mg balance and electropotential differences were measured in three ewes which were fed on grass and suppleyented with potassium and Mg by intraruminal infusion.

2. Mean plasma Mg concentrations were unaltered by combined K and Mg treatments, but fell (P < 0.001) when K alone was infused.

3. The mean concentrations, in rumen digesta, of sodium and K varied reciprocally (P < 0.001) with each other when K was infused, but were unaffected by Mg infusion. The mean Mg concentrations in rumen digesta fell (P < 0.01) with K infusion but rose (P < 0.001) with Mg infusion.

4. Absorption and excretion of Mg rose (P < 0.001) when Mg intake was increased but was unaffected by K intake.

1. The use of a nylon-bag technique for pig feed digestibility determination was studied. Bags, measuring 25 × 40 mm and containing feed samples, were introduced into the pig gastrointestinal tract through a duodenal cannula, and recovered in the faeces between 23 and 69 h later. The disappearance of organic matter and crude protein (nitrogen × 6.25) from the bags was compared with in vivo apparent digestibility, determined by conventional faecal-collection methods, and neutral-detergent-fibre content for eleven feeds. The residues left in the bags after passage through the intestine from whole-crop-pea (Pisum sativum) and barley-grain samples were analysed for starch, non-starch polysaccharide residues, Klason lignin, crude protein and ash.

2. Dry matter disappearance of barley or whole-crop peas was not influenced by increasing bag pore size from 10 to 36 μm or sample weight from 250 to 1000 mg. Pepsin (EC 3.4.2.1) pretreatment had no effect on the degradation in the bags of the feeds investigated.

3. Organic matter and crude protein disappearance from the bags exceeded in vivo apparent digestibility by up to 0.10 and 0.42 units respectively. In vivo apparent organic matter digestibility could be predicted (P < 0.001) by the organic matter disappearance from the bags and the neutral-detergent-fibre content of the feed, while in vivo apparent crude protein digestibility was highly correlated (P < 0.001) to all these indices but poorly to crude protein disappearance from the bags.

4. Klason lignin was the least degraded component measured in the whole-crop-pea and barley residues from the bags, while starch was completely digested. Of the non-starch polysaccharide residues, xylose was the most resistant to degradation in both samples whereas other sugars vaned in susceptibility to solubilization between samples.

5. Results are discussed in relation to the potential uses of the nylon-bag technique described in the present paper for studies in simple-stomached animals.

1. The present work with growing rats was undertaken to study the effect of protein quality, gastrointestinal microbial activity and the level of nitrogen intake on protein utilization and energy digestibiiity. The experiment involved a total of thirty-six dietary treatments in a 9 x 4 factorial design, with five rats per treatment. The thirty-six diets resulted from nine protein sources. Each diet was composed of a basal N-free mixture plus minerals and vitamins, with N sources added at the expense of the N-free mixture to provide 15.0 gN/kg dry matter (DM) in the first three protein-addition treatments and 30.0 gN/kg DM in the fourth protein-addition treatment. The nine protein sources were soya-bean meal, casein, wheat gluten, skim-milk powder, meat-and-bone meal, wheat bran, barley, wheat and cooked brown beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). The four formulations for each protein source incorporated the protein unsupplemented at 15.0 gN/kg DM, unsupplemented at 30.0 gN/kg DM, or supplemented at 15.0 gN/kg DM with the estimated first-limiting amino acid or the antibiotic Nebacitin.

2. With all protein sources, the inclusion of the first-limiting amino acid had no effect on either protein or energy digestibility.

3. The microbial activity in the digestive tract affected protein utilization and energy digestibility to a different degree depending primarily on the level and type of dietary fibre. True protein digestibility (TD) of skim-milk powder and brown beans, both rich in easily-fermentable energy, increased from 0.959 to 1.000 and from 0.680 to 0.777 respectively by the addition of Nebacitin. TD of the other protein sources was only marginally affected by the antibiotic treatment. Only with brown beans was the biological value (BV) markedly affected by Nebacitin with an increase from 0.482 to 0.557 by the treatment. Energy digestibility was significantly lower in rats given antibiotic with soya-bean meal, wheat bran, barley, wheat and brown beans.

4. The effect of level of N intake on protein utilization was dependent on both protein quality and the fibre concentration of the diet. Protein sources with high BV were more affected than proteins of lower BV. It was concluded that TD is not always independent of dietary protein concentration.

I. The present work with growing rats was undertaken to compare the effect of wheat bran and barley husk on nutrient bioavailability. The experiment involved a total of nine dietary treatments consisting of a control group, without wheat bran or barley husk, and two series of four groups with increasing amounts of fibre from 50 to 117 g/kg dry matter (DM) from the two fibre sources. Dietary nitrogen concentration was kept constant at 15 gN/kg DM by adjusting the diets with an N-free mixture. Protein sources were casein, fortified with methionine and white wheat flour. True protein digestibility (TD), biological value (BV), net protein utilization (NPU) and digestible energy (DE) were estimated.

2. TD decreased when total dietary fibre (TDF) increased, the effect being greater in the case of wheat bran. The difference in response can be explained by the larger N contribution from bran than from barley husk. N from barley husk was actually digested less than N from wheat bran.

3. Changes in TD due to fibre were small, both for wheat and barley husk. It was concluded that decreased TD with fibre at moderate levels was due to poor digestibility of the N associated with the fibre source rather than decreased digestibility of N from other dietary components.

4. BV was only marginally affected by the fibre levels, indicating that the relatively high lysine content in both wheat bran and barley husk had a low availability.

5. Wheat bran and barley husk showed almost the same negative effect on DE and DM digestibility (DMD). DMD correlated significantly with DE, demonstrating that DMD is a simple and convenient means of monitoring DE.

1. Responses to twice-weekly oral supplementation with 4.0 g methionine were measured with lambs (27 kg) grazing kale (Brassica oleracea) for 10 weeks (Expt 1). In a second experiment with sheep fed on kale at hourly intervals, rumen fractional outflow rates of CrEDTA and ruthenium Tris(1, 10 phenanthroline) markers were measured from the rates of decline in their concentrations. Rumen turnover of S-methyl-L-cysteine sulphoxide (SMCO) and of carbohydrate (CHO) constituents were also measured. The kale fed contained 11.4 g SMCO/kg dry matter and the ratio, readily-fermentable: structural CHO was high at 2.9.

2. Severe haemolytic anaemia, associated with low live-weight gain (LWG), occurred in the lambs during the initial 5 weeks of grazing, due to rumen fermentation of SMCO. Oral methionine supplementation raised plasma concentrations of methionine and cysteine, increased wool growth rate, and increased LWG during the initial 5 weeks. Methionine supplementation also increased rumen pool and plasma SMCO concentrations, suggesting reduced rumen SMCO fermentation.

3. In Expt 2, rumen degradation rate of SMCO (1.2/h) was calculated to be twice as fast as that of the most rapidly fermented dietary CHO constituents and eight times faster than the rate of water outflow (0.16/h), thus explaining its virtually complete rumen degradation and toxicity in brassica diets. It was estimated that 1.2 g of each 4.0 g methionine administered would have escaped rumen degradation, due to the high rate of water outflow from the rumen.

4. Disappearance rates of CHO constituents from the rumen were as predicted for normal ruminant diets, showing that rumen metabolism of SMCO did not have a depressive effect. Hemicellulose disappeared at a slower rate than the other CHO, suggesting that hemicellulose digestion may be rate-limiting for cell-wall digestion.

5. It is suggested that the responses to oral methionine supplementation can be explained through methionine reducing rumen SMCO degradation, and through a significant portion of the methionine escaping rumen degradation.