Development and Testing of the AIN-93 Purified Diets for Rodents: Results on Growth, Kidney Calcification and Bone Mineralization in Rats and Mice

Because of nutritional and technical problems the AIN-76A rodent diet was revised. One of the new formulations was designated AIN-93G and was suggested for use during growth, pregnancy and lactation studies. Some major differences in this new formulation compared with the AIN-76A diet are as follows: 7 g soybean oil was substituted for 5 g corn oil/100 g diet to increase the amount of linolenic acid; the amounts of vitamins E and K were increased; cornstarch was substituted for most of the sucrose; the amount of phosphorus was reduced to eliminate the problem of nephrocalcinosis in female rats; L-cystine was substituted for DL-methionine; and the manganese concentration was reduced. Various developmental modifications of the AIN-93G diet were fed to weanling rats and mice to determine effects on growth and tissue mineralization. After rats were fed the developmental version of AIN-93G for 16 wk, body weights in both male and female rats were not different from those of rats fed a cereal-based nonpurified diet. After 13 wk, male mice fed this diet weighed 13% more than those fed the nonpurified diet. Body weights of female mice were not affected. The new diet formulation prevented kidney calcification in female rats and mice during 16 wk of feeding.