1. The incorporation of [14C]sucrose in to serum triglyceride was shown to increase in both male and female baboons after a period of high sucrose intake. During the same period of high sucrose intake there was an increase in the fasting serum triglyceride concentration of the male baboons but not of the females.

2. When the male baboons were given a parenteral oestrogen preparation in addition to the sucrose diet the increase in fasting serum triglycerides was greatly reduced but there was little alteration in the extent of the incorporation of sucrose into serum triglyceride compared to that with the diet and no oestrogen.

3. A parenteral testosterone preparation given to the female baboons in addition to sucrose diet had no effect on either the extent of incorporation of sucrose into triglyceride the fasting serum concentrations of triglyceride.

4. The findings suggest that the differing patterns of fasting triglyceride response in the male and female baboons to the sucrose diet may have resulted from oestrogen enhancing the removal of triglyceride from the serum of the female animals.

1. Eight groups, each of five steers, were given a basal ration of sorghum grain plus urea and minerals (0.003% sodium) ad lib. and demineralized water. Two groups, one given coarsely rolled and the other finely ground grain, were given the basal ration alone or the basal ration supplemented with 3.25, 6.50 or 13.0 g Na/animal daily as NaHCO3. Mean daily intakes of Na per animal for each of the four treatments were 133 mg, 3.1, 6.0 and 11.4g, respectively.

2. The mean growth rate of steers given the basal ration was 059 kg/d, which was significantly less than that of steers ingesting 3.1 g Na/d (093 kg/d). There were no significant differences in the growth rates of steers ingesting 3.1, 6.0 and 11.4g Na/d.

3. The concentration of Na in the saliva from the steers fed on the basal ration was significantly less and the concentration of potassium significantly greater than those from steers with Na intakes of 3.1 g or more per d. The mean Na:K ratio of the saliva from steers given the basal ration was less than unity, whereas the ratio in the saliva from steers ingesting 3.1g or more Na/d varied between 11 and 21.

4. The concentrations of Na in the ruminal fluid were significantly less in steers given the basal ration than in those ingesting 3.1 g or more Na/d.

5. The widths of the cortex and the zona glomerulosa as a percentage of the adrenal cortex were significantly greater in steers given the basal ration only than in those given Na intakes of 3.1 g/d. There were no significant differences in the width of the zona glomedosa of the adrenals from steers ingesting 3.1, 6.0 or 11.4g Na/d.

6. A Na and K balance conducted on two steers given the basal ration only for a further 112 d after the other steers were slaughtered indicated that faecal and urinary Na losses approximated to the Na intake, but there was a positive K balance. When these steers were subsequently given a supplement of 380 m-equiv. Na/d for 16 d they retained 370 m-equiv. Na/d and were in negative K balance.

7. It is suggested that the value given by the Agricultural Research Council (1965)for the Na requirement of steers for growth is excessive.

8. Steers given coarsely rolled grain ate significantly more feed per d than those given finely ground grain, but rate of body-weight gain was not affected by the method of grain processing.

1. The protein quality as evaluated by nitrogen incorporation efficiency (NIE) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) was determined for twenty-eight breeding lines of peas (Pisum sativum L.) which had been grown under similar field conditions.

2. Different lines of peas, when given as the sole source of protein to weanling rats at a 10 % level in an otherwise adequate diet, varied from 18 to 78% of that of casein in their ability to support growth and nitrogen retention. There was close correlation between PER and NIE values.

3. From analysis of rat growth curves, the pea lines were separated into those that produced fairly good growth and those that barely maintained the initial body-weight. However, growth rate alone did not rank pea lines in the same order as PER or NIE.

4. Carcass protein, as a percentage of body-weight, was higher in pea-fed (20.4%) than in casein-fed rats (18.8%).This was probably associated with a difference in body fat content.

5. There was no correlation between protein quality and the protein content of the different pea lines.

1. Factors affecting the release of methionine from kaolin-saturated-fat capsules in the intestine of cattle were investigated. Bile and pancreatin were shown to be necessary for appreciable solution of the capsule.

2. The relationship between site of release and site of absorption was ascertained. One site was shown to be in the proximal duodenum the second longer site is in the distal duodenum and proximal jejunum. Encapsulated methionine was carried past the first absorption site.

3. The results of in vitro incubations confirmed by those of in vivo studies show that 60–65% of the methionine becomes available for absorption in the intestine.

1. The technique for the quantitative estimation of lignin by digestion with 72% H2S04 has been investigated. Two methods of pretreatment designed to eliminate interference products of carbohydrates and proteins were compared, namely (a) acid and pepsin and (b) acid detergent. The latter technique gave low lignin yields owing to the colloidal dispersion of lignin in the acid detergent treatment. Erroneous results arise from an inadequate digestion in 72% H2SO4. It was found preferable to filter the product lignin without prior dilution of the acid since white particles of material, assumed to be cellulose, flocculated from solution on dilution. Also there is some loss due to colloidal dispersion of lignin during refluxing in dilute acid.

2. Analysis of soda lignin and sulphuric acid lignin preparations from hay, duodenal contents and faeces of sheep with exteriorized flow through a re-entrant duodenal fistula provided evidence for the degradation of lignin by digestive processes. Demethoxylation of lignin occurred mainly in the stomach, suggesting that this was the main site of breakdown.

3. A new displacement method of measuring duodenal flow is described. Quantitative results obtained also indicate that lignin is degraded mainly in the stomach to the extent of about 10%.

4. These results suggest that faecal lignin is an adequate marker for the estimation of duodenal flow, and hence of the extent of changes in the stomach and intestines respectively.

1. The responses of serum lipids of weanling and adult male rats to different diets have been examined. Total cholesterol, phospholipids and triglycerides were measured. The proteins used in the diets were casein and wheat gluten, the carbohydrates were starch and sucrose, and the main lipid source was groundnut oil supplemented with either gluten oil or maize oil.

2. In general, the type of carbohydrate did not influence the experimental results, whereas the type of protein had a marked effect. Compared with casein, gluten caused an increase in concentration of serum triglycerides, phospholipids and cholesterol in weanling rats, but there was no change in adult animals. Much of this ‘gluten effect’ in weanlings was not ob- served when the diet was supplemented with 0.7% L-lysine hydrochloride.

3. When 1% cholesterol was added to the gluten diets, the serum cholesterol concentrations were only slightly and variably affected in weanlings. Serum triglycerides and phospholipids were not altered in adult rats by the dietary cholesterol, whereas there were reductions in these lipid components in the weanlings, whether the protein was supplemented with L-lysine hydrochloride or not.

4. Gluten oil was not shown to be responsible for any major portion of the differences observed between gluten and casein in their effects upon the lipids of rat serum.

1. Protein digestion in the gastro-intestinal tract of cattle receiving diets with either low or high content of maize was investigated. Digesta obtained from the duodenum and ileum were separated into three fractions; soluble, microbial and particulate, and the amino acid composition of the three fractions and that of the total digesta were determined. The proportion of particulate material digested in the intestine was less from the high-maize than from the low-maize diet, but more of the particulate fraction entered the duodenum from the high-maize than from the low-maize diet, so the absolute amount of particulate fraction which was digested was greater for the high-maize diet.

2. More protein was digested in the rumen from the low-maize diet (high-roughage) than from the other diet. Total digestion of protein from the low-maize diet was also higher.

3. Although more protein from the high-maize than from the low-maize diet reached the duodenum, the protein from the low-maize diet was more digestible in the intestine, so the total amount of dietary protein digested in the intestine was the same for both rations.

1. The effects of ingestion of diets deficient in both copper and iron on storage of these elements and on the red cell indices have been studied in rats.

2. Injection of Cu into rats whose stores of Cu had been virtually exhausted resulted in a temporary increase in the concentration of plasma Fe and depletion of the Fe stored in the liver. Storage of Fe in the spleen seemed to be affected somewhat differently from that in the liver.

3. Fe injected into Cu-deficient rats was transported to storage sites but, although the plasma Fe concentration was presumably transiently increased thereby, there was no lasting effect.

4. The hypotheses that Cu mediates in the release of Fe from ferritin and that of Osaki, Johnson & Frieden (1966) that caeruloplasmin promotes the rate of Fe-saturation of apotransferrin are discussed.

1. 15NH4Cl was continuously infused for periods of 120–216 h into the rumens of sheep which were allowed to feed 2 out of every 10min. These treatments achieved steady metabolic states and allowed the assessment of nitrogen conversions by means of tracer methodology. The sheep were given either a barley diet or one of three hay diets. In two trials, the flow of abomasal material was determined using lignin and polyethylene glycol as markers. The amounts of dry matter (DM), gross energy, total N, soluble N, microbial N and microbial DM in abomasal digesta, and the concentration of ammonia in the rumen liquor were measured. The concentrations of 15N in the N of urine, faeces, rumen and abomasal bacteria and protozoa, rumen and abomasal bacterial and protozoal protein, abomasal particulate matter and in rumen ammonia were determined.

2. Comparisons of the steady-state concentrations of 15Nin the microbes with that in rumen ammonia indicated that from 50 to 65% of the bacterial N and from 31 to 55% of the protozoal N were derived from rumen ammonia in vivo.

3. An amount of N equivalent to 60–92% of the daily intake was transformed into ammonia N in the runen.

4. Some 17–54% of the ammonia was absorbed from the rumen, but this was not readily converted into urea.

5. Microbial growth in the rumen resulted in the assimilation of 1.7–2.6 g N/100 g DM fermented.

6. The generation-time of bacterial protein in the rumen was calculated from the rate of in- crease of 15N concentration in this fraction, and values of 38 and 42 h were obtained for sheep given barley and hay diets respectively.

7. The combined results allowed quantitative estimates to be made of the complete metabolism of rumen N, and from these the possibility of fixation of N gas in the rumen was suggested.

1. The effect of preventing rumen fermentation of feed on the utilization of energy and protein by growing lambs has been studied by theoretical means.

2. Initially, the differences in feed utilization resulting from microbial fermentation compared with digestion by host enzymes were estimated. It was assumed that a diet containing 85% of unspecified carbohydrate and 15% casein was placed directly into the rumen (ruminant lamb) or abomasum (non-ruminant lamb) of animals weighing 20 kg, and that in both instances the diet was completely digested. In the non-ruminant lamb from 39 to 45% more net energy was available for maintenance, and from 22 to 61% more net energywas available for production, than in the ruminant lamb. The smaller differences applied to concentrate diets and the larger differences to highly fibrous diets. When dietary protein was completely degraded by microbes approximately 50% less protein was absorbed from the small intestine in the ruminant lamb than in the non-ruminant lamb. It is suggested that this may significantly reduce tissue synthesis and growth in early-weaned lambs weighing less than 30 kg, but it may not limit growth in heavier animals.

3. Because part of the food of ruminants generally escapes fermentation and is digested by enzymes in the small intestine, and because part of the food of non-ruminants is fermented in the hind-gut, the estimates were adjusted accordingly. In this situation the utilization of digested energy in the non-ruminant lamb was from 30 to 45 % more efficient for maintenance and from 10 to 60 % more efficient for production than in the ruminant lamb. Some dietary proteins are so resistant to microbial degradation that a lower efficiency of utilization in the ruminant lamb when these proteins are given could only result from a limit in availability of energy.

4. Since ruminants digest crude fibre more efficiently than non-ruminants, it was calculated that the level of dietary crude fibre must exceed at least 22%, and in some instances 35%, of the dry matter before the ruminant digestive system results in a better utilization of dietary energy in lambs. Thus, many common feeding-stuffs would be more efficiently used by lambs if they by-passed the rumen. The possible limitations to the adoption of this procedure are discussed.

5. The present techniques available for reducing the degradation of food within the rumen are outlined. It is suggested that an improvement in food utilization in ruminants could be achieved by feeding fats or formaldehyde-treated fat-casein complexes in solid diets, or alternatively, by feeding liquid diets which activate the reticular groove.

1. Four sheep were given four diets containing proportions of rolled barley and soya-bean meal varied to provide 10.3, 13.3, 16.1 and 19.9% crude protein in the dietary dry matter; the treatments were given according to a 4 x 4 Latin square design. The mean daily intake was 989 g dry matter. The apparent disappearance of protein, ash, ether extractives and carbohydrate before the abomasum, between the abomasum and terminal ileum and between the terminal ileum and rectum was measured.

2. The amount of non-ammonia crude protein (Y1, g/d) disappearing from the small intestine increased with protein intake (X, g/d) according to the equation Y1 = 2.12X – 0.0057X2–83, reaching a maximum when there was about 19% crude protein in the dry matter of the diet.

3. The treatments had no significant effects on the disappearance of starch, ether extractives or ash. About 93% of starch disappeared in the rumen and 6% in the small intestine. The total mean daily intake of ether extractives was 21 g; 9 g were added in the rumen, 24 g disappeared from the small intestine and 6 g were excreted in the faeces. The total mean daily intake of ash was 67 g; 26 g were added in the rumen, 37 g disappeared from the small intestine, 9 g from the large intestine and 47 g were excreted in the faeces.

1. One reason, based on indirect evidence, advanced in explanation of the low nutritional value of raw soya bean (RS) is that it stimulates the pancreas to secrete massive amounts of protein which are ultimately lost in the faeces. This theory has been investigated directly.

2. The expected outpouring of pancreatic protein did not occur when the secretion of enzymes and protein in pancreatic juice from chickens and rats given successively heated soya bean (HS) and RS diets was measured directly.

3. It is suggested that RS, acting upon intestinal proteins, forms trypsin inhibitor-protein complexes which, in spite of adequate proteolytic activity, escape digestion and are lost with the faeces, thus decreasing the nutritional value of the diet.

1. Rates of disappearance of glucose from ligated loops of small intestine in lambs, adult sheep and young rats were studied. The concentration of glucose in the lumen decreased exponentially with time, suggesting that within a range of concentrations of 166–277 m-moles/l glucose was absorbed mainly by passive diffusion.

2. The rate of absorption of glucose from a 166 mM-solution based on either zero or first order kinetics and expressed as m-moles/m small intestine per h decreased along the intestine from the duodenum to the ileum in lambs and rats. The decrease was slight in adult sheep.

3. The total absorptive capacity of the small intestine of adult grazing sheep for glucose from 166 mM-solutions (06 m-moles/kg body-weight per h) was approximately 25% of that for lambs less than 1 week of age.

4. Young rats had a greater absorptive capacity of the small intestine (12.9m-moles/kg body-weight per h) than adult sheep of about 40 kg body-weight (0.6 m-moles/kg body-weight per h) and this largely reflected a longer small intestine per unit body-weight.

5. The absorptive capacity of lambs for glucose was greater when the level of voluntary lactose intake was increased before an experiment. The absorptive capacity of the ileum of adult sheep given wheat was greater than that of grazing adult sheep.

6. Developmental changes in glucose absorption are discussed in relation to normal changes in diet and to changes in the morphology of the small intestine with age.

1. There is an association between iron overload, ascorbic acid deficiency and osteoporosis in middle-aged South African Bantu males. The iron overload contributes to the ascorbic acid deficiency by accelerating its oxidative catabolism. The object of the present investigation was to explore the possibility that the osteoporosis results from chronic ascorbic acid deficiency.

2. On quantitative microradiography, percentage bone-formation surface was normal but percentage bone-resorption surface was significantly increased in ten osteoporotic subjects compared with seven control subjects.

3. There was a significant inverse correlation between bone mineral density and liver storage iron concentration in thirty-five Bantu subjects. In thirteen individuals aged 39 years or less, liver storage iron concentration was significantly correlated with percentage bone-resorption surface.

4. Guinea-pigs deprived of ascorbic acid for 21 d exhibited both significantly diminished percentage bone-formation surface and increased percentage bone-resorption surface.

5. Guinea-pigs overloaded with iron by injections of iron dextran developed significantly reduced hepatic ascorbic acid concentrations and bone mineral densities; percentage bone-formation surface was significantly diminished and percentage bone-resorption surface significantly increased. Ascorbic acid injection largely prevented the bone changes.

1. Diets of rolled barley supplemented with urea or fish meal at four different levels were given in a change-over experiment to four sheep with cannulas in the abomasum and in the terminal ileum.

2. Estimates were made of the disappearance of protein, ether extractives, starch, and ash in the various segments of the alimentary canal, and of the production of volatile fatty acids when the urea supplements were given.

3. The disappearance (Y, g/d) of non-ammonia crude protein from the small intestine increased with increasing protein intake (X, g/d) on the fish-meal diets according to the equation Y = 0.37X+44. There was no increase in the disappearance with the urea supplements.

4. In agreement with earlier work, it was shown that faecal nitrogen excretion was influenced to a much greater extent by fermentation in the large intestine than by that in the rumen. There was an apparent synthesis of ether-extractable lipid in the rumen at rates of 21and 18 g/d with the urea and the fish-meal diets respectively.

5. The energy of the volatile fatty acids produced when the urea diets were given was estimated to be 59% of the digestible energy consumed.

1. Adipose tissue was obtained simultaneously from subcutaneous and deep sites in children undergoing elective surgery, and from different subcutaneous sites in adults. The lipid content and fatty acid composition were measured using gas-liquid chromatography and the number of cells counted after fixation in osmium tetroxide. The mean amount of lipid per cell was used as a measure of the size of the cells.

2. Cells from deep sites in children were significantly smaller (P > 0.001) than those from subcutaneous sites in the same individual. Cells from different subcutaneous sites were of similar size.

3. The fatty acid composition of the lipids was similar in tissue taken from the abdominal wall and from deep sites.

4. The fatty acid composition of adipose tissue from the lower leg showed an increase in the monounsaturated fatty acids and a decrease in the saturated fatty acids compared with the fatty acid composition of tissue from other subcutaneous sites.