BLOOD CHANGES IN CATTLE FED ON A PROTEIN-DEFICIENT DIET
By NARAIN DAS Kehar and V.V.S. MURTY, Animal Nutrition Section, Imperial Veterinary
Research Institute, Izatnagar
(Received for publication on 25 January 1945)
DEFICIENCY in the supply of protein is one of the
thief limiting factors in formulating balanced rations.
According to Wright's [1937] estimate, only 0.079 lb.
of digestible crude protein is available per day for
an animal weighing 500 lb. as compared with the
normal requirements of 0.3 lb. This deficiency
is aggravated in times of famine and war. During
the first great war, oedema, which has been ascribed
by Knack and Neumann [1917], Kohman [1920]
and Maver [1920] to lack of protein in the diet,
occurred among the famine-stricken population of
Central Europe [Peters and Van Slyke, 1932].
Krishnan [1944] also observed it during the 1943
Bengal famine.
In our experimental animals,
oedema of the feet and eyelids was observed when
they had been kept on a protein-deficient ration
for about three months.
In view of the common prevalence of protein
deficiency in livestock in India and the lack of
information on blood changes which could be used
for the diagnosis of this condition, a systematic
study was made of the various blood components
of cattle maintained on a low-nitrogen ration for a
considerable period as compared with those of cattle
on a normal ration.
Details of the low-nitrogen and the nitrogen-free
rations used are given in a previous article [Kehar
Mukherjee and Sen, 1943]. Nine Hariana bullock
were maintained on a low-nitrogen ration for 29 day
and subsequently on a nitrogen-free ration for 2
days. Prior to this, the animals had been kep
on a sub-maintenance level of protein allowance
for about two months. The control animals were
fed on a balanced ration. Animals of both groups
were adults and apparently in good health. Blood
was drawn by jugular puncture after 12 hours
fasting. The following morphological and chemical
constituents were studied : Total red cells, total and
differential white cell counts, cell volume, hæmo
globin, iron, sugar, cholesterol, inorganic phosphorus
calcium, magnesium, total nitrogen, non-protein
nitrogen and the protein fractions. All the mor
phological constituents were studied by Napie
and Das Gupta's [1941] methods. Observations
were made in duplicate and the average values are
given in Tables I to III.
TABLE I
Blood constituents in normal and protein-deficient bullocks
—
Red cells (millions
per c. mm.)
White cells (thous-
and per c. mm.)
White cells per
cent distribu-
tion—
Lymphocytes
Monocytes
Neutrophiles .
Esinophiles .
Basophiles .
Cell volume per
cent
Mean corpuscular
volume(µ µ)
Mean corpuscular
hæmoglobin γγ
Mean corpuscular
hæmoglobin con-
centration.
Normal animals
1
7.5
5.7
66
9.5
20.5
3.5
0.5
54
72.0
14.5
20.2
2
5.8
6.8
65
11
20
4
0
50
86.2
17.4
20.2
3
9.8
9.2
64
2
32
2
0
43
43.8
10.2
23.2
4
9.4
9.7
69
3
27
1
0
50
53.2
12.4
23.4
5
7.7
7.7
51
2
44
3
0
57
74.0
15.4
20.9
6
6.0
7.5
64
10
21
4.5
0.5
50
83.3
19.2
23.0
Aver-
age
7.7
7.7
63.1
6.2
27.4
3.0
0.16
50.6
68.7
14.9
21.8
Protein-deficient animals
1
8.4
7.7
63
9
20
8
0
58
69.0
11.78
17.06
2
8.0
8.0
62
10
20.5
7.5
0
44
55.0
10.37
18.86
3
5.9
7.2
63
4
26
7
0
44
74.6
16.7
22.5
4
6.2
6.8
58
3
28
10
1
49
79.0
15.0
18.97
5
6.7
6.8
60
7
25
8
0
40
59.7
12.2
20.5
6
6.6
7.2
..
..
..
..
..
37
56.1
12.27
21.89
7
5.8
6.4
..
..
..
..
..
47
81.0
14.65
18.08
8
6.6
7.3
..
..
..
..
..
47
71.2
13.63
19.11
9
6.2
6.9
..
..
..
..
..
43
69.3
13.87
20.0
Aver-
age
6.48
7.15
61.2
6.6
23.9
8.1
0.2
45.1
66.1
13.39
19.66
183