When 70-80-g male albino rats eat a diet furnishing daily requirement of valine for optimal growth (70 μmol/g) and all other nutrients (“complete diet”), they gain weight at an average rate of 3.0 g/100 g body wt/day. When valine is removed, they lose weight at an average 2.1 g/100 g body wt/day. The growth retardation is improved or corrected by adding valine to the diet, daily weight gain being proportional to dietary valine content over a range of 0-70 μmol/g.
