Excretion of purine derivatives by ruminants: effect of exogenous nucleic acid supply on purine derivative excretion by sheep

The present study examined the relationship between the supply of exogenous nucleic acid (NA) purines and their recovery as the derivatives hypoxanthine, xanthine, uric acid and allantoin in urine. Six lambs, totally nourished by intragastric infusions of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and casein (i.e. no rumen fermentation), were given by abomasal infusion a microbial NA concentrate at six levels (from zero to 24.5 mmol purines/d). The true digestibility between the abomasum and terminal ileum of the NA purines was measured in a separate experiment using three lambs. The relative proportion of urinary allantoin increased, and that of other derivatives decreased, as the amount of NA infused was increased. The relationship between total excretion of purine derivatives (Y; mmol/d) and exogenous purines absorbed (X; mmol/d) was Y = 0.84X + 0.150W0.75 e-0.25X, where W is body-weight (kg). This implies that the endogenous contribution to the total excretion of derivative decreased as the supply of exogenous purines increased, with an associated progressive replacement of de novo synthesis by exogenous purines. The model also implies that 0.16 of the purines were eliminated through routes other than derivative excretion in urine. Once excretion exceeded 0.6 mmol/kg W0.75 per d, endogenous excretion was effectively zero and thus Y = 0.84 X. In normally fed sheep, derivative excretion should therefore relate to the microbial purines and, hence, microbial protein absorbed according to these models. The changing proportions of allantoin and other derivatives in urine were probably due to changes in the relative importance of endogenous and exogenous purines as precursors.