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Table 6 Increasing dietary protein intake increases the oxidation of protein in adult catsa

From: Amino acid nutrition and metabolism in domestic cats and dogs

Variable

Diets containing different levels of protein

Low

protein

Adequate

protein

Moderate

protein

High

protein

Body weight, kg

3.84

3.99

4.2

4.17

Dietary energy and nutrient content and food intake

 Protein content, % (as-fed basis)

9.1

17.2

32.7

59.6

 Protein content, % of metabolizable energy

7.5

14.2

27.1

49.6

 Fat content, % (as-fed basis)

20.9

21.0

20.9

20.9

 Carbohydrate, % (as-fed basis)

65.1

57.0

41.0

13.5

 Metabolizable energy, MJ/kg dry matter

20.3

20.3

20.2

20.1

 Food intake, g dry matter/d

41.5

58.5

54.0

57.8

Nitrogen intake, excretion, and balance

 Nitrogen intake, g/d

0.60

1.61

2.82

5.52

 Total urinary nitrogen, g/d

0.76

1.16

2.29

4.58

 Urinary ammonia nitrogen, mg/d

117

152

157

198

 Urinary creatinine nitrogen, mg/d

48.7

47.1

56.5

54.5

 Fecal nitrogen, g/d

0.09

0.12

0.15

0.17

 Nitrogen balance, g/d

−0.25

0.33

0.39

0.76

Dietary intake and the oxidation of nutrients

 Protein intake, g/d

3.8

10.0

17.6

34.5

 Protein oxidation, g/d

5.7

8.6

17.1

34.6

 Fat intake, g/d

8.7

12.3

11.3

12.1

 Fat oxidation, g/d

12.1

10.7

13.9

9.5

 Carbohydrate intake, g/d

27.1

33.3

22.2

7.8

 Carbohydrate oxidation, g/d

21.6

27.1

20.3

9.2

Concentrations of amino acids in plasma

 Total amino acids, μmol/L

1827

2579

4461

5363

 Leucine + Isoleucine + Valine, μmol/L

154

221

564

1286

Urinary excretion of amino acids

 EAAs (excluding taurine) and NEAAs, μmol/d

418

563

458

527

 EAAs/NEAAs, mol/mol

5.4

5.7

2.6

1.7

 Felinineb, μmol/d

388

458

1009

919

  1. EAAs Nutritionally essential amino acids, NEAAs Nutritionally nonessential amino acids
  2. a Adapted from Green et al. [122]
  3. b Two males and two females