Abstract/Summary

Phenylalanine (PHE) and to a lesser extent TYR are two commonly used amino acid tracers for measuring protein metabolism in a variety of species and tissues. The model examined in this paper was developed to resolve trans-organ and stable isotope dilution data collected from experiments with lactating dairy cows using these tracers. Two methods of solving the model, i.e., as two four-pool submodels, one representing PHE and the other TYR, or as an integrated eight-pool model, are investigated and the alternative solutions are contrasted. Solving the model as the two four-pool submodels rather than the integrated 8-pool model is preferred as the equations are slightly simpler and their application less susceptible to any compounding of measurement errors. The data used to illustrate the model were taken from experiments conducted to investigate the effects of high and low protein diets on the partitioning of PHE and TYR between milk protein synthesis and other metabolic fates by the mammary gland.