Abstract
The relative activity of quinolinic acid to nicotinic acid as niacin nutriture was investigated using weanling rats of the Wistar strain (3-week old) fed on a tryptophan-limited and nicotinic acid-free diet containing various amounts of nicotinic acid or quinolinic acid. As the results, (1) in comparison of body weight gain, the relative activity of quinolinic acid was 1/24 in weight basis and 1/18 in molar basis ; (2) in comparison of urinary excretions of MNA, 2-Pyr and 4-Pyr, its activity was 1/37 in weight basis and 1/27 in molar basis ; (3) in comparison of NAD levels in blood and liver, its activity was 1/24 in weight basis and 1/18 in molar basis. Therefore, it was found that the relative activity of quinolinic acid to nicotinic acid as niacin nutriture was aroud 1/30 in weight basis and 1/20 in molar basis.
