Urinary Nitrogen Excretion of the Cockerels Fed Non-protein Nitrogen Diets

Abstract

Under specific conditions, it has been shown that some monogastric animals are able to utilize the nitrogen from non-protein nitrogen (NPN) sources to a limited extent.
FEATHERSTON et al.1) were able to show that chicks fed a diet containing all the essential amino acids and supplemented with several sources of nitrogen retained more nitrogen and higher plasma levels of non-essential amino acids. In their study, urea and diammonium citrate (DAC) were effective sources of nitrogen, thus indicating that nitrogen from non-protein sources could be utilized by the chick. YOUNG et al.2) reported that laying hens fed a low protein diet were able to utilize NPN to partially satisfy the total nitrogen requirement. Diammonium citrate and glutamic acid were proved to be effective in a diet adequately balanced.
The present experiments reported herein were designed to determine the relative effectiveness of NPN, such as L-glutamic acid, dibasic ammonium phosphate (DAP), DAC and urea in the cockerels by judging from the nitrogen balance index and urinary nitrogenous constituents.