Summary and Conclusions
Food consumption records and fecal weight data have been obtained on albino rats receiving diets with and without mineral oil.
These data indicate that, at the levels of mineral oil studied, no caloric loss of food is experienced with the ingestion of mineral oil since:
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(1)
Animals on a normal diet made similar gains throughout the growing period to animals on the same diet with 6 per cent added mineral oil.
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(2)
When food consumption was identical for the two groups, the gains were smaller.
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(3)
Animals on a basal costive diet receiving mineral oil required no more food for the maintenance of body weight than was required by animals on the basal diet without mineral oil.
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(4)
The increase in fecal weight from the animals receiving mineral oil could be accounted for by the weight of mineral oil fed.
The levels of mineral oil studied were comparable on the basis of food consumption to doses of medicinal mineral oil commonly prescribed for the relief of constipation in humans.
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Paul, H.E., Paul, M.F. The effect of mineral oil on food utilization I. Caloric value of food. Amer. Jour. Dig. Dis. 17, 55–57 (1950). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03002514
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03002514