[Free amino acids in rat blood serum during A-hypovitaminosis]

A pool of free aminoacids of the blood serum has been studied in growing rats with a decreased retinol content in the liver tissue (to 5 g/g). The study shows a reliable drop in the concentrations of all essential aminoacids, except for phenylalanine. It is determined that the total amount of essential aminoacids decreases by 31%. At the same time concentrations of replaceable aminoacids increase, namely: glutamic acid and arginine--by 15.7%, ornithine and histidine--by 24%-45%, though proline concentration decreases abruptly by 31%. A disturbance in ultrastructural organization of microvilli in the apical membrane cells absorptive epithelium of the small intestine has been found. The results of the study confirm changes in a free aminoacid pool of the blood serum in growing rats and these changes occur first of all due to the disturbance of the absorption processes in the small intestine.