CARRAGEENAN AS A DIETARY CONSTITUENT FOR THE RAT: FAECAL EXCRETION, NITROGEN ABSORPTION, AND GROWTH

Abstract

At levels of 2–20% in the diet of young rats, carrageenan is quantitatively excreted in the faeces.In diets fed in equal amounts, both cellulose and carrageenan, when substituted for starch in various proportions, affect the growth of young rats. Beginning at levels of 10–15%, however, growth is slower with carrageenan, and there is less absorption of dietary nitrogen,Carrageenan, like cellulose, has no nutritional value. The depression of nitrogen absorption could explain the slower growth rate that occurs with carrageenan in the diet.