Estimation of endogenous contribution and urinary excretion of purine derivatives from the total digestible nutrient intake in Nellore heifers

The objectives of this experiment were to estimate the endogenous excretion of purine derivatives (PD), the intake and digestibility of nutrients, the urinary excretion of PD from the intake of total digestible nutrients (TDN) and digestible organic matter (DOM) in Nellore heifers. Eight heifers, 267±17 kg body weight (BW), were assigned to two 4 × 4 latin squares. The planned treatments were four dry matter intake (DMI) levels: 10, 14, 18 and 22 g/kg BW. The diet contained 70% corn silage and 30% concentrate. The endogenous losses were obtained by regression between excretion of PD (mmol/BW...