nitrogen balance

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The difference between the dietary intake of nitrogen (mainly protein) and its excretion (as urea and other waste products). Healthy adults excrete the same amount as is ingested, and so are in N equilibrium.

During growth and tissue repair (convalescence) the body is in positive N balance, i.e. intake is greater than loss and there is an increase in the total body pool of protein. In fevers, fasting, and wasting diseases the loss is greater than the intake and the individual is in negative balance; there is a net loss of protein from the body.

A condition that occurs when a person's nitrogen intake, in the form of protein ingested, is equal to the nitrogen utilized in protein synthesis and excreted in the urine and faeces. Estimates are based on the assumption that the nitrogen content of protein averages 16%.

1. (in physiology) the balance (def. 1) of the nitrogen content of the nutrients and the excretory products of an organism.
2. (in agriculture) the net loss or gain of the nitrogen content of soil that results from removal of nitrogen by cropping, leaching, etc. and addition of nitrogen by nitrogen fixation or addition of nitrogenous fertilizers.

A determination made about the body’s ability to meet its protein needs which is reached by comparing the amount of nitrogen taken in with the amount discharged via urine, hair, skin, or perspiration.