The relative rates of absorption of amino acids from the small intestines of the sheep

Abstract

1. 1. The relative rates of absorption of sixteen amino acids from equimolar mixtures placed in the small intestines of adult sheep ( Ovis species, var. merino) was measured in acute experiments. 2. 2. There was no detectable effect of concentration (1·5 and 3·0 mM) of amino acids in the mixtures. 3. 3. Comparison of the sheep data with those obtained from the literature for man showed that variation in relative absorption rates within these species was as great as the variation between the species. 4. 4. It was concluded that the proportions of amino acids presented to the liver in the portal blood need not be the same in different subjects of the same species even if the proportions of the available amino acids for absorption from the small intestines were the same.