Ileal endogenous losses in pigs feeding a protein-free diet or diets with different contents of casein or crystalline amino acids.

The common usage of protein-free diets to estimate unspecific AA losses has been criticised as unphysiological and incorrect. Therefore, in this study different diets were tested for the determination of endogenous losses (EL) of amino acids (AA) and nitrogen (N) assuming a complete absorption in the small intestine. Seven cannulated gilts received a protein-free diet (Diet PF) or diets with 3%, 6% or 10% crude protein (CP) from crystalline AA (Diets CA) or casein (Diets CAS) according to a 7 × 7 Latin square design. After 6 d adaptation to the diet, ileal digesta was collected for 24 h and thereafter analysed for AA, N and the digestibility markers Cr2O3 and acid insoluble ash (AIA). Generally, among all AA, the highest amounts of EL were found for Pro, Glu and Gly, and the smallest for Met. Different levels of CP in Diets CA and CAS had no effect on EL. Significant differences between treatments were observed only for the EL of Glu, Ile, Ser (higher in Diets CA and PF), Pro and Tyr (higher in Diet PF) (p < 0.05). There were no differences in determined EL using Cr2O3 or AIA as digestibility markers.

Effect of xylanase on apparent ileal and total tract digestibility of nutrients and energy of rye in young pigs.

A digestibility experiment was carried out on weanling piglets to study the effect of an enzyme complex with predominant xylanase activity on apparent ileal (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients and energy. The enzyme was supplemented at four levels (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) to a diet containing 96% rye. There were significant effects of the added enzyme on AID of dry matter, organic matter and crude fibre, and on apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and energy. However, the improvements in the digestibility were rather small. Except for galactose, there was a significant response in AID of all non-starch polysaccharide constituents to enzyme supplementation, the greatest effect being found at 100 mg/kg. The improvement in AID of arabinose + xylose (685%) was much higher than that of the remaining sugars (110%). AID of galactose was negative in all dietary treatments, presumably due to its high concentration in endogenous secretions. There was a significant response in AID of the sum of essential and total amino acids to the increased level of the enzyme. It is concluded that the enzyme complex is efficient in degrading dietary fibre components, thus improving the digestibility of organic matter, amino acids and energy.

Lysine maintenance requirement and efficiency of its utilisation in young pigs as estimated by comparative slaughter technique.

An experiment was carried out on weaner pigs (initial BW 10.8 kg) to estimate the maintenance requirement for lysine (Lys) and its marginal efficiency of utilisation using a comparative slaughter technique. Three groups of six pigs each were fed purified diets for 21 days supplying Lys at 19.5, 78 or 195 mg/kg W0.75, which corresponded to 50, 200 or 500% of the assumed maintenance requirement. All other essential amino acids were given at 50% excess. At the end of the experiment, pigs were killed for whole-body nitrogen (N) and amino acid analysis. A representative group of six pigs was analysed at the beginning of the experiment. Based on regression equations, relating Lys or N retention to Lys intake, Lys requirement for zero Lys retention was estimated to be 121 mg/kg W0.75, while Lys requirement corresponding to zero N retention was 41.7 mg/kg W0.75. At N equilibrium, the pigs lost 65 mg of Lys per kg W0.75 daily while at zero Lys retention, the daily N retention was 156 mg/kg W0.75 . The marginal efficiency of lysine utilisation was 0.91. It is concluded that zero lysine retention is a better criterion of lysine maintenance requirement than zero N retention.

Effects of chronic food restriction and treatments with leptin or ghrelin on different reproductive parameters of male rats.

The existence of a close relationship between energy status and reproductive function is well-documented, especially in females, but its underlying mechanisms remain to be fully unfolded. This study aimed to examine the effects of restriction of daily calorie intake, as well as chronic treatments with the metabolic hormones leptin and ghrelin, on the secretion of different reproductive hormones, namely pituitary gonadotropins and prolactin, as well as testosterone, in male rats. Restriction (50%) in daily food intake for 20 days significantly reduced body weight as well as plasma PRL and T levels, without affecting basal LH and FSH concentrations and testicular weight. Chronic administration of leptin to rats fed ad libitum increased plasma PRL levels and decreased circulating T, while it did not alter other hormonal parameters under analysis. In contrast, in rats subjected to 50% calorie restriction, leptin administration increased plasma T levels and reduced testis weight. Conversely, ghrelin failed to induce major hormonal changes but tended to increase testicular weight in fed animals, while repeated ghrelin injections in food-restricted males dramatically decreased plasma LH and T concentrations and reduced testis weight. In sum, we document herein the isolated and combined effects of metabolic stress (50% food restriction) and leptin or ghrelin treatments on several reproductive hormones in adult male rats. Overall, our results further stress the impact and complex way of action of different metabolic cues, such as energy status and key hormones, in reproductive function also in the male.

Histidine maintenance requirement and efficiency of its utilization in young pigs.

An experiment was conducted in young pigs (initial BW 10.1 kg) to estimate the maintenance requirement for histidine and its efficiency of utilization for protein accretion using a comparative slaughter technique. Three groups of six pigs each were fed a purified diet supplying 0, 14 or 56 mg histidine per kg BW0.75. Following 21 d of feeding, pigs were killed for whole body compositional analysis. A representative group of six pigs was killed at the beginning of the experiment. Retention of histidine and total N were the main criteria of response. Histidine retention (R2 = 0.73) and N retention (R2 = 0.78) were linear functions of histidine intake (p < 0.001). Histidine requirement for zero histidine retention was 15.5 mg/kg BW0.7, whereas histidine required for zero N retention was 4.1 mg/kg BW0.75. At zero histidine retention, the pigs retained daily 82 mg N/kg BW0.75, presumably due to the degradation of histidine-rich compounds such as haemoglobin and/or carnosine. The slope of the regression line relating histidine retention to N retention indicated that 105 mg of histidine was deposited per gram of total N which was considerably less than the estimated histidine concentration in body protein (179 mg/g N). Based on the slopes of regression equations for histidine and N retention, marginal efficiency of histidine utilization was calculated to be 0.94 and 1.34, respectively.

Effect of microbial phytase on apparent ileal amino acid digestibility of phosphorus-adequate diets in growing pigs.

Six ileally cannulated pigs (mean initial body weight 34.8 kg) were used to study the effect of microbial phytase on apparent ileal digestibility of P, total N and amino acids. Three P-adequate diets (digestible P concentration 2.3 g kg(- )l) containing barley (B), soyabean meal (S) or a mixture of the two (BS) with or without phytase supplement (1000 FTU x kg(-1)) were fed to pigs using a 6 x 6 Latin square design. The addition of phytase increased (p < 0.05) apparent ileal P digestibility of diets B, S and BS by 16.5, 19.2 and 19.2%, respectively. There was no effect of phytase on the ileal digestibility of total N. Apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids tended to increase in the BS diet supplemented with phytase (mean improvement of 2.2%); but no significant difference was found for any amino acid as compared with the unsupplemented diet. To asses the additivity of apparent amino acid digestibility, the determined values for the BS diet were compared to those calculated from digestibilities found in diets B and S. There were no significant differences between the determined and calculated values. It is concluded that the addition of microbial phytase to P-adequate diets does not affect ileal amino acid digestibility in growing pigs and that the apparent amino acid digestibility values determined in single ingredients may be additive when included into a complex diet.