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The effects of a high protein diet (casein 40%, lactalbumin 20%) were evaluated in pregnant and/or suckling rats. Histological studies of the organs showed structural alterations to the liver, adrenal cortex, kidneys and heart accompanied by significant metabolic changes in blood glucose and triglyceride levels. Overall the experimental results encourage the belief excessive intake of animal protein, particularly at an early stage, may do specific damage to the normal course of pregnancies, given the low birth rate and high incidence of perinatal mortality observed in the offspring produced by mothers given high protein diets throughout pregnancy.

Nests of rats, generated by mothers receiving synthetic diets of different protein content during gestation and in post-pregnancy phase, have been kept under observation during suckling and after weaning care being taken that offspring received the same diet as characterised maternal feeding. It was found that in the animals receiving hypoproteic diet (6% proteins), early induced malnutrition extended up to the 40th day of life, namely the term for the cellular subdivision of almost all organs, cuts body growth by about 80% compared to control rats, and is accompanied by a remarkable drop in packed-cell volume and haemoglobin value. In parallel, the electrophoretic pictures of hypoproteic rats were characterised by a drop in serous albumin, offset by a marked rise in beta and gamma globulin, Finally, evaluation of the weigh ratios between the brain and other organs of vital importance, underlines the preferential growth of the cerebral mass in rats receiving an inadequate protein supply.