Amino acid content of rabbit urine and plasma

Abstract

The content of amino acids in plasma and urine from male albino rabbits was determined by ion-exchange chromatography and compared to values for other species.In general, the amino acids present in the plasma and urine of rabbits are those commonly found in other species. In contrast to human urine in which the content of histidine is usually greater than the two methylated derivatives, the content of histidine in rabbit urine is lower than either 1-methylhistidine or 3-methylhistidine. The plasma amino acid pattern is unusual in that glycine content is higher than alanine content; this is the reverse of the pattern in man and the cat.Fasting the rabbits for 88 hr. caused approximately a 66% decrease in the total amount of urinary amino acids. A 12- or 88-hr, fast caused the plasma total amino acid content to decrease approximately 30%. Valine, isoleucine, and leucine contents of the plasma, however, were increased.