[Changes in nitrogen metabolism in young cattle following ultraviolet irradiation and feeding on urea]

Some indexes of nitrogen metabolism in blood, rumen content and urine of bull-calves fed on urea were studied as affected by UV-radiation. The content of protein, nonprotein, amine nitrogen, urea and ammonia in the rumen content and blood as well as as intensity of urea nitrogen and ammonia excretion with urine were determined. It is established that when 25% of protein necessary for the organism was replaced in the ration by urea, UV-radiation with a dose of 120 merg/h-m2 lowers already at the beginning of irradiation the amount of amine nitrogen and further the protein one in the young cattle rumen content. In blood of the irradiated bull-calves at the beginning of irradiation the level of amine nitrogen decreases, the level of nonprotein nitrogen lowers with a longer irradiation. The content of protein nitrogen in blood at that time increases. It was found that the content of ammonia in the bull-calves rumen during the first twenty-hours lowers, the amount of urea in blood does not change essentially. Simultaneously the ammonia excretion with urine intensifies, at the same time the excretion of urea nitrogen with urine does not differ essentially from that in the control bull-calves. In the bull-calves under study the nitrogen balance and average daily gains increase that may testify to the fact that UV-radiation in the applied dose stimulates a more complete utilization of urea nitrogen for the synthesis processes in the organism.