American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 23, 99-104, Copyright © 1970 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Biochemical Changes in Skin in Experimental Protein and Calorie Deficiency

¹ From the Nutrition Research Laboratories, Indian Council of Medical Research, Tarnaka, Hyderabad-7, India

Month-old growing albino rats were subjected to experimental protein and calorie deficiency for a period of 40 days and changes in some of the chemical constituents of the skin were determined periodically. It was observed that there was a reduction in the weight of the skin in relation to body weight at the end of the experimental period in the deficient groups. Total nitrogen content, total collagen content, and soluble collagen showed a decrease, whereas the hexosamine content was increased in the skin of the deficient groups as compared with the control group. The significance of these observations in relation to collagen metabolism, biological aging, and maturity of collagen fibers with the resultant alterations in structural stability of the skin are discussed.