ABSTRACT:

Marasmus (protein caloric malnutrition) was induced in rats which were then used to study

protein metabolism. Twenty-four hour urinary excretion of urea, creatinine and 3-methyl histidine were determined in the rats during control, marasmic and rehabilitation periods. Significant decreases were observed in the excretion of 3-methyl histidine and creatinine (indices of muscle breakdown and muscle mass respectively), but the change in urea excretion was not significant.

Hepatic arginase activity was observed to be reduced during marasmus. However, the activities of hepatic aspartate aminotransferase (GOT) and alanine aminotransferase (GPT) increased significantly during marasmic state while muscle alanine aminotransferase showed reduced activity and muscle aspartate aminotransferase was not affected by the condition. These observations indicate that a gluconeogenic adaptation to furnish energy is predominant in marasmus while synthesis and catabolism of protein are reduced to the minimum.