Urea excretion in ruminants. II. Studies in sheep whose rumen contents were replaced with physiological saline

1970 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 337 ◽  
Author(s):  
RF Thornton

Urea was infused intravenously into sheep whose rumen contents were removed and replaced with physiological saline. Despite large differences in plasma urea concentration the rate of nitrogen accumulation in the rumen, as urea plus ammonia, was similar at 6-7 mmoles/hr. The maximum concentration of nitrogen, as urea plus ammonia, was not influenced by plasma urea concentrations higher than 15-17 mg N/100 ml. Urinary urea excretion was positively related to plasma urea concentration but within any level of plasma urea concentration there was a close association between urine flow and urinary urea excretion.

1970 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
RF Thornton

The relationships between the plasma urea concentration and clearance variables associated with urinary urea excretion were investigated in urea-supplemented cattle. The plasma urea concentration was related to the urinary urea output, and thus to the urea clearance and the fraction of filtered urea excreted. It is suggested that the urine flow rate was influenced by urinary urea excretion, which in turn was influenced by the plasma urea concentration and therefore by the filtered load of urea. The probable influence of the recycling of urea to the rumen on the excretion of urinary urea is discussed.


1970 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
RF Thornton

Urea metabolism in cattle was studied under conditions of different nitrogen, sodium chloride, and water intakes. Urea supplementation increased the concentrations of ammonia and trichloroacetic acid-insoluble nitrogen in ventral rumen fluid, raised the plasma urea concentration, and increased the excretion of faecal nitrogen and urinary urea and non-urea nitrogen. Sodium chloride loading increased the free water intake and urine flow rate, and the added sodium was quantitatively recovered in the urine. Plasma urea concentration was linearly related to urinary urea excretion but the slope of this relationship was influenced by the urine flow rate. Urea clearance and the fraction of filtered urea excreted were both related to the urine flow rate and to the urine-concentrating ability of the kidney, but not to the urinary urea output. During low nitrogen intakes, urinary urea excretion was influenced more by urine flow than by solute load.


1957 ◽  
Vol 188 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen ◽  
Knut Schmidt-Nielsen ◽  
T. R. Houpt ◽  
S. A. Jarnum

The nitrogen excretion was studied in the one-humped camel, Camelus dromedarius. When a growing camel was maintained on a low N intake (dates and hay) the amount of N excreted in the form of urea, NH3 and creatinine decreased to 2–3 gm/day. This decrease was caused by a drop in urea excretion from 13 gm to 0.2–0.5 gm/day. Urea given intravenously during low N intake was not excreted but was retained. (The camel like other ruminants can utilize urea for microbial synthesis of protein.) The renal mechanism for urea excretion was investigated by measuring urea clearance and glomerular filtration rate during a period of 7 months. During normal N intake about 40% of the urea filtered in the glomeruli were excreted in the urine while during low N intake only 1–2% were excreted. The variations in urea clearance were independent of the plasma urea concentration and of glomerular filtration rate, but were related to N intake and rate of growth. No evidence of active tubular reabsorption of urea was found since the urine urea concentration at all times remained higher than the simultaneous plasma urea concentration. The findings are not in agreement with the current concept for the mechanism of urea excretion in mammals. It is concluded that the renal tubules must either vary their permeability to urea in a highly selective manner or secrete urea actively.


1967 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Cocimano ◽  
R. A. Leng

1. The entry rates of urea into the urea pool of the body fluids have been measured in sheep given rations varying in crude protein percentage from 3.5 to 27.3.2. Results obtained with a single injection and with continuous infusions of [14C]urea were essentially the same.3. The difference between the entry rate and the rate of excretion of urea in the urine was taken to indicate the quantity of urea degraded in the alimentary tract.4. Plasma concentrations and urea entry rates were significantly and linearly related.5. The relationship between excretion rate and plasma urea concentration was best described by a cubic equation.6. Degradation of urea in sheep was found to be extensive in all the animals studied; as the protein intake increased, the quantity of urea degraded also increased but the percentage of urea entering the body pool that was degraded was decreased. Animals given a ration containing 3.5% crude protein degraded 76–92% of the urea entering the body pool.7. A rectilinear relationship was found between pool size and plasma urea concentration. The urea space in animals given low-protein rations was significantly less than in animals on high-protein rations.8. The effects of starvation for 2, 4 and 6 days on urea metabolism in sheep were investi-gated. In a11 the sheep starved for 2 days there was a significant increase in urea pool size, but the entry rate was markedly depressed indicating a retention of urea in the body pool on starvation.9. A significant amount of nitrogen was found to go through the system: rumen ammonia → portal blood ammonia→blood urea→rumen ammonia.10.Urea excretion rate, urea clearance by the kidney, urine flow rate and the ratio of the concentration of urea in urine to that in plasma (urea U:P ratio) were also examined.11. There were significant correlations between urine flow rate and urea excretion and between plasma urea concentration and urine flow rate.


1970 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 323 ◽  
Author(s):  
RF Thornton

Cattle and sheep were offered the same diet in amounts according to the ratio of their metabolic body size, and were intravenously infused with urea in amounts according to the same ratio. An apparent limit to the transfer of urea from the blood to the rumen occurred at lower plasma urea and rumen ammonia concentrations in cattle than in sheep. Associated with ingestion of feed there was a decline in the concentrations of both rumen ammonia and plasma urea, and in urinary urea excretion. It is suggested that (a) the transfer of urea from the blood to the rumen and the urinary excretion of urea are reciprocally related, and (b) the transfer of urea from the blood to the rumen and the consequent reduction in plasma urea concentration associated with feed ingestion may account for the decline in urinary urea excretion after ingestion of feed, rather than changes in the urine flow rate and in renal tubular mechanisms.


1976 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Allen ◽  
E. L. Miller

1. Plasma urea entry rate, urinary urea excretion and, by difference, urea recycling in the body, together with the flow of non-ammonia N through the abomasum and digestion of dry matter (dm) before the abomasum were determined in both wethers and lambs receiving cereal-starch diets supplemented with urea to give 60–120 g crude protein (N × 6.25)/kgdm.2. Lambs excreted less urea in urine than wethers given the same diet.3. Relationships between plasma urea entry rate or urine urea excretion rate and plasma urea concentration were different for lambs compared to wethers suggesting greater conser vation of body N by renal control in lambs.4. Recycling of urea was not related to plasma urea concentration in wethers but was related exponentially in lambs, suggesting recycling is controlled rather than the result of simple diffusion from the blood to the gastro-intestinal tract.5. Abomasal non-ammonia-N flow was similar for wethers and lambs and increased linearly with urea supplementation.6.dmdigestion prior to the abomasum was not significantly altered, although there was a tendency for decreased digestion of the basal diet given to lambs.7. Maximum microbial N flow to the abomasum was estimated as 30 g N/kg organic matter (OM) fermented in the rumen.8. This work and the literature reviewed suggested maximum net microbial production can be obtained when the diet supplies an amount of fermentable N equal to the microbial N output. It is calculated the diet should supply approximately 26 g fermentable N/kg digestible OM or 1.8 g fermentable N/MJ metabolizable energy. This corresponds to a fermentable crude protein supply varying from 65 to 130 g/kg DM as digestible OM content increases from 400 to 800 g/kg DM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 248 ◽  
pp. 104483
Author(s):  
Taiana Cortez de Souza ◽  
Tatiana Cortez de Souza ◽  
Gregorí Alberto Rovadoscki ◽  
Luiz Lehmann Coutinho ◽  
Gerson Barreto Mourão ◽  
...  

1993 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Obara ◽  
D. W. Dellow

SUMMARYThe effect of rumen fermentation on the relationship between urea and glucose kinetics was examined in sheep fed chopped lucerne hay with intraruminal infusions of water, urea, sucrose, or urea plus sucrose at Palmerston North, New Zealand in 1986. Sheep were fed hourly and infused intraruminally with water (1200 m1/day), or a similar volume containing either urea alone (13·7g/day), sucrose alone (178·2 g/day) or urea (14·6 g/day) plus sucrose (175·0 g/day). The added sucrose resulted in a lower rumen ammonia concentration (P< 0·05), lower plasma urea concentration (P< 0·05) and reduced urinary urea excretion (P< 0·05). Urea recycled to the gut tended to increase with the sucrose, urea or sucrose plus urea treatments compared with the water treatment. The fermentation of sucrose in the rumen resulted in decreases in ruminal pH (P< 0·05) and in the ratio of acetate to propionate (A:P) (P< 0·05). The infusion of sucrose also increased the concentration of propionate in rumen fluid (P< 0·05), tended to increase the plasma glucose level and increased plasma glucose irreversible loss (P< 0·05). The infusion of urea resulted in an increase in the plasma urea level (P< 0·05), urea pool size (P< 0·05) and urea irreversible loss (P< 0·01). However, urea infusion did not affect glucose metabolism or volatile fatty acid (VFA) fermentation. The effects of sucrose infusion on glucose and urea kinetics were broadly similar when given alone or with urea, apart from changes in the urea degradation rate. It was concluded that the additional fermentative activity resulting from sucrose increased propionate production which, in turn, was available for glucose production, thus ‘sparing’ amino acids for tissue protein utilization and reducing urea excretion.


1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 573-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Schück ◽  
J. Erben ◽  
H. Nádvorníková ◽  
V. Teplan ◽  
O. Marečková ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document