The Excretion of Amino Acids in Normal and Undernourished Human Subjects Following a Single Infusion of an Amino Acid Preparation

Abstract

The excretion of 9 amino acids (arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine and valine) was determined in the urine of 4 normal and 4 undernourished subjects after the intravenous infusion of both physiological saline and an assayed amino acid mixture. The degree of undernutrition in the subjects ranged from mild to severe. No difference was found in either the excretion of the individual amino acids or the total excretion pattern which could be attributed to the nutritional state of the subjects. Both groups retained approximately the same percentage of each of the administered amino acids.