Recovery in rates upon refeeding after retardation of growth by dietary deficiency of protein.

This is a study of growth rate of rats compared between 45 refeeding protein-deficient rats, 54 protein-deficient rats and 51 normal control rats. The growth rate and body weight gain of the protein-deficient rats were less than those of the control and the refeeding protein-deficient rats. (p < 0.05) The refeeding protein-deficient rats grew rapidly until they had the same growth rate as the controls (graph 1) but the body weight gain was les than that of the controls. (p < 0.05) The anal-nose length of the normal controls was equal to that of the refeeding protein-deficient rats (p > 0.05) but longer than that of the protein-deficient rats (p > 0.05) but more that that of the protein-deficient rats (p < 0.05) Histological structures of tibia of the refeeding protein-deficient rats and the normal controls were similar but differed from that of the protein-deficient rats.