Abstract: | A study was made on adult rats (170 g) of the effect of nialamide (20 mg/100 g of diet), an inhibitor of monoaminooxidase, administered for 15 or 30 days (short or long-term, respectively), with food intake controlled (pair fed), on the absorption and retention of nitrogen, and on the nitrogen content in the liver, the gastronemio and longissimus dorsi muscles and in the small intestine. Nialamide administered for a time which can be considered prolonged (30 days) negatively affects absorption of alimentary protein, while metabolic utilization is reduced when the drug is administered both in the short and the long term. Proteic catabolism is less marked in male rats, due to the hormonal anabolizant situation in this sex. Nitrogen content under the effect of nialamide showed no significant variation in the gastronemio muscle or in the small intestine. There is a clear reduction in the longissimus dorsi muscle and an increase in the liver of those animals of both sexes treated with the drug, with the exception of male rats given nialamide in the long term. |