STUDIES ON HYPOALBUMINEMIA PRODUCED BY PROTEIN-DEFICIENT DIETS : I. HYPOALBUMINEMIA AS A QUANTITATIVE MEASURE OF TISSUE PROTEIN DEPLETION

In five dogs placed on a protein-poor diet for 3 weeks, the decline in total circulating plasma albumin was a small (3 per cent) but relatively constant part of the total nitrogen lost. These data together with observations on dogs by others indicate that there is a constant relationship or partition in the loss (or gain) between plasma albumin and total body protein induced by diet. Based on this relationship a formula is developed for estimating the degree of total tissue protein deficiency from the value of the serum albumin concentration alone. This formula would also apply to the replenishment of protein deficiencies of dietary origin and it indicates that for every gram of increase in serum albumin desired about 30 gm. must be retained for increases in other proteins of the body.