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Protein Digestibility and Ingestion

Nature volume 197, pages 499–500 (1963)Cite this article

Abstract

BENDER1 has directed attention to the importance of the correct definition and usage of terms adopted in discussions on protein nutrition, in particular to the distinction between ‘apparent’ and ‘true’ as adjectives qualifying absorption and retention. Thus the ‘apparent digestibility’ (AD) of a protein is the ratio of the difference of the ingested and fæcal nitrogen to the ingested nitrogen, expressed as a percentage, while the ‘true digestibility’ (TD) makes allowance for the nitrogen in the fæces of non-dietary origin (the so-called metabolic nitrogen, F0), which is subtracted from the total fæcal nitrogen; true digestibility is therefore always greater than apparent digestibility.

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Author notes

  1. J. P. GREAVES

    Present address: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Great Westminster House, Horseferry Road, London, S.W.1

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, W.C.1

    J. P. GREAVES

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  1. J. P. GREAVES
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GREAVES, J. Protein Digestibility and Ingestion. Nature 197, 499–500 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/197499a0

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