The experiment was carried out on 3-month old puppies. Control animals received a diet normal in calcium and vitamin D. The diet for one group of experimental animals was deficient in both calcium and vitamin D, while another experimental group was fed a diet deficient in calcium but with adequate vitamin D. The response of these animals to injected parathyroid extract was evaluated over a 4 mo...

Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests were performed at 4-week intervals in groups of weanling rats before and after feeding with maize- or cassava-based diets with and without adequate protein and sublethal cyanide supplementation. Weaning weights were doubled (increase of about 50 g) after 4 weeks on control (maize-based with adequate protein) and protein-replete diets. Weight gain on the p...

Zinc (Zn) as a nutritional factor affects the health of the oral tissues. This study was done for the evaluation of the effects of zinc deficiency on the oral tissues of rats. The study was carried out on 14 male Wistar rats, cessation of lactation on the 24th day after birth. The rats were randomly divided into two groups. Zinc deficient (ZD) diet was used for one group and another group was f...

Epigenetics might explain correlations between lifestyle and risk of disease. Maternal diet has been shown to dynamically alter epigenetic regulation, including affecting DNA methylation status. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that GATA-4 gene methylation would lead to congenital heart defects in vitamin A-deficient offspring. Ten weaning female rats (VAN group) were fed with a d...

I. The effects of alterations of the protein and zinc concentrations of a semi-synthetic diet on the food intake and dietary preferences of Zn-deficient and normal rats have beencompared. 2. The voluntary food intake of Zn-deficient rats fell to 70 96 of that of the controls. The day-to-day variation of intake increased markedly and was associated with a cyclical pattern of food consumption. Wh...

Reproductive functions are regulated by the sophisticated coordination between the neuronal and endocrine systems and are sustained by a proper nutritional environment. Female reproductive function is vulnerable to effects from dietary restrictions, suggesting a transient adaptation that prioritizes individual survival over reproduction until a possible future opportunity for satiation. This ad...

The body maintains Mg(2+) homeostasis by renal and intestinal (re)absorption. However, the molecular mechanisms that mediate transepithelial Mg(2+) transport are largely unknown. Transient receptor potential melastatin 6 (TRPM6) was recently identified and shown to function in active epithelial Mg(2+) transport in intestine and kidney. To define the relationship between Mg(2+) status and TRPM6 ...

The lipid compositions of whole brain homogenates and microsomal and myelin fractions isolated from the brains of 6-month-old rats raised on a lab chow diet, a fatty aciddeficient diet, and a deficient diet supplemented with 595 (w/w) corn oil were determined. Brain and body weights were significantly lower in the fatty acid-deficient group. The compositions of alk-1-enyl groups and phospholipi...