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The Lack of Toxicity of Biuret to Animals¹

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station²

Abstract

The effect of biuret in the diet of rats, poultry, lambs, and steers was investigated. Biuret produced neither acute nor chronic toxicity in these animals. It appeared to increase water consumption among lambs to a greater degree than did urea. It also appeared to depress appetite in both lambs and steers and gain in steers when compared with urea and feed protein. However, the depressing effect on appetite and gain was overcome apparently by including in a biuret ration adequate protein from cottonseed meal or higher levels of urea. The variable response with biuret suggests that this substance is not a dependable source of nitrogen for ruminants.

The limited value of biuret as a protein source and the fact that no toxic effects were observed in this series of experiments, indicates that the biuret content of commercial urea may be of greater concern when such urea is used as fertilizer than when it is used as a feed for animals.

¹ Supported in part by a grant-in-aid from the Grand River Chemical Division of Deere and Company, Pryor, Oklahoma.

² Departments of Animal Husbandry and Biochemistry and Nutrition, College Station.

³ Part of the purified biuret was obtained as a gift from the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation through Dr. David F. Green. The crude biuret was supplied by Deere and Company.