Abstract
The effect of dietary copper on selected metabolic systems requiring pyridoxal phosphate was investigated by comparing certain urinary excretory products of pair-fed copper-deficient and copper-adequate rats. Kynurenic acid and xanthurenic acid, two tryptophan metabolites, were in lower concentrations in the urines of the copper-deficient animals in the pretryptophan-load period. Following a tryptophan load, these metabolites increased markedly in the urines of both groups, but the in crements were much larger for the copper-deficient animals. The increases in kynurenic acid were greater than those of xanthurenic acid in both groups, but the increase was disproportionately higher in the copper-deficient rats. The excretion of taurine and urea by the copper-deficient rats was significantly less. At the dilution used, several amino acids were found in significant amounts in the urines of the copper-deficient animals, whereas only taurine was detected in the urines of those fed copper. Several possible explanations of these findings are discussed. J. Nutr. 103: 1764-1771, 1973. INDEXING KEYWORDS urinary amino acids •ure copper deficiency •urinary tryptophan metabolites
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