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Short-term supplementation of isocaloric meals with l-tryptophan affects pig growth

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Abstract

l-Tryptophan (Trp) and some of its metabolites regulate the circadian rhythm in mammals. We aimed to investigate the effects of short-term supplementation of Trp in isocaloric meals on growth performance using the parameters of multiple blood biomarkers and free amino acids in growing pigs. A total of 32 Landrace × Yorkshire barrows with a mean body weight of 8.64 (±1.13) kg were randomly assigned to four groups and then fed with various concentrations of Trp diets daily. Our results showed that sequential supplementation of different concentrations of Trp in isocaloric meals decreased the feed:gain (F:G) ratio (P = 0.079) and plasma urea and albumin (P = 0.019), whereas the level of total protein did not. Among the essential and conditionally essential amino acids, the concentrations of histidine, isoleucine, proline, threonine, arginine, and valine in the plasma decreased (P < 0.05), whereas the concentrations of Trp, glycine, serine, and methionine increased (P < 0.01). In addition, concentrations of branched chain amino acids also significantly decreased (P = 0.004), while the rate of conversion of Trp to branched chain amino acids increased (P < 0.001). Taken together, we show that administration of a high concentration of Trp in breakfast with decreasing concentrations of Trp in lunch and dinner positively affected feed utilization and improved feed efficiency, at least in part, through the optimization of amino acid interconversions and nitrogen utilization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan Provincial Engineering Research Center for Healthy Livestock and Poultry Production, 644# Yuanda 2 Rd, Changsha, 410125, Hunan, China

    H. N. Liu, C.-A. A. Hu, M. M. Bai, Gang Liu, M. C. B. Tossou, K. Xu, F. N. Li, P. Liao, X. F. Kong, X. Wu & Y. L. Yin

  2. Institute of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 4100081, Hunan, China

    C.-A. A. Hu & Y. L. Yin

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, MSC08 4670, Fitz 258, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    C.-A. A. Hu

  4. Hunan Co-Innovation Center of Animal Production Safety, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China

    H. N. Liu & F. N. Li

  5. College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483# Five Mountain Rd, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China

    M. M. Bai & Y. L. Yin

  6. Hangzhou King Techina Technology Company Academician Expert Workstation, Hangzhou King Techina Technology Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, 311107, China

    H. N. Liu & Y. L. Yin

Authors
  1. H. N. Liu
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  2. C.-A. A. Hu
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  3. M. M. Bai
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  4. Gang Liu
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  5. M. C. B. Tossou
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  6. K. Xu
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  7. F. N. Li
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  8. P. Liao
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  9. X. F. Kong
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  10. X. Wu
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  11. Y. L. Yin
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Contributions

HL designed the study, analyzed data, and drafted the manuscript with CAH. MB and MCT conducted the research. KX and FL participated in the experimental design and statistical analysis. XK provided essential materials. XW and YY participated in the experimental design and helped draft the manuscript. Additionally, HL had final responsibility for content while all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to H. N. Liu or X. Wu.

Ethics declarations

Ethical standards

The protocol for this study was approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Permit Number: 201506-11), and it was conducted out in accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Funding

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the research program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31501964; 31601953; 31402088), Chinese Academy of Sciences visiting professorship for senior international scientists (2016VBB007), the State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University (Project No. SKLF-ZZB-201509), and the Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (2015STS007), which allowed the research to be completed. We also thank Hangzhou King Techina Technology Company Academician Expert Workstation and Shandong Newhope-Liuhe Group Company Academician Expert Work station for providing technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Handling Editors: C.-A. A. Hu, Y. Yin, Y. Hou, G. Wu, Y. Teng.

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Liu, H.N., Hu, CA.A., Bai, M.M. et al. Short-term supplementation of isocaloric meals with l-tryptophan affects pig growth. Amino Acids 49, 2009–2014 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-017-2440-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-017-2440-3

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