Effect of low protein and low energy diet on physiological status and digestibility of F344 rats.

A long-term raising study was carried out on male F344/DuCrj rats with three low protein (Crude Protein (CP); 14.5, 11.5, 8.5%) and low energy (Digestible Energy (DE); 2.0 kcal/g) diets from 4 to 104 weeks of age. In rats fed the 8.5% CP diet, body weight and digestible crude protein (DCP) consumption at 10 weeks of age were lower (P < 0.05) but the body weight at 50 weeks of age was higher (P < 0.05) than in the other groups. In rats fed the 8.5% CP diet the crude fat digestibility was higher (P < 0.05), and the CP/nitrogen-corrected metabolizable energy (MEn) ratio was low. On the other hand, the mean survival time at 80 weeks of age was shorter in rats fed the 8.5% CP diet (P < 0.05).