Feeding studies in rats with high protein fungus grown on natural gas
Volesky, B.; Zajic, J.E.; Carroll, K.K.
Journal of Nutrition 105(3): 311-316
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-3166 PMID: 1117342 Document Number: 93375
Male Sprague-Dawley rats from 1 month old were fed for 1 week or 5 months on a diet of casein 20, glucose 60 and cellulose 20% or a diet with 10 to 100% by weight of Graphium biomass cultured on natural gas with (NH4)2SO4 as the N source and containing protein 47, lipids 10, ash 9 to 11 and carbohydrate and fibre 30 to 33%. Rats on the diet with 40% dried biomass gained weight; those on 100% lost weight during the 7-day trial. No pathological abnormality was found at autopsy. After 5 months the rats on the biomass weighed less than the controls. Some of them were then transferred to a standard laboratory diet for another 10 months. They gained weight without any abnormality, except in 1 rat originally given 20% biomass which showed cortical adenoma of the kidney.