Experience in pair-feeding of rats treated with nitrate or sodium nitrite

A nutritional and toxicological study has been made of rats, using the pair-feeding technique. The animals were fed a diet containing 5% of NO-3 ion or 0.5% of NO-2 ion (in the form of sodium salts). Under these conditions, a decrease was noted in the consumption of solid food which caused a net loss of weight. Besides, nitrates notably increase liquid intake and diuresis while nitrites induce a significant decrease in the protein retention coefficient.