The Use of Synthetic Organics as Non-Biogenic Food Extenders

This thesis describes an investigation of the possibilities of using non-biogenic caloric sources in animal diets. The synthetic materials are intended to temporarily extend normal food supplies for domestic animals and humans in the event of an agricultural disruption, such as a poor harvest occasioned by unfavorable weather. A number of non-biogenic sources were considered on the basis of their industrial availability and existence in known biochemical pathways of' mammalian intermediary metabolism. Acetic and propionic acid esters and salts were chosen for the study. Survival rates and weight gain of mice receiving normal and starvation diets were used to indicate the metabolic utilization of acetylated and propionylated oats. Uptake of carbon 14 was used as an index of utilization of 14C labeled acetate. Acetate supplemented minima1 diets slightly prolonged survival. The average weight changes for the control and experimental animals, in both minimal and experimental diets, were not substantially different. The 14C tracer experiments revealed that a significant amount of exogenous acetate is oxidized, with a large portion also entering substrate pools.