Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T15:07:36.182Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Free amino acid concentrations in plasma, muscle and liver as indirect measures of protein adequacy in growing chickens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

I. Fernández-Fígares ,
C. Prieto ,
R. Nieto  and
J. F. Aguilera
I. Fernández-Fígares
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC), Animal Nutrition Department, Profesor Albareda 1,18008 Granada, Spain
C. Prieto
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC), Animal Nutrition Department, Profesor Albareda 1,18008 Granada, Spain
R. Nieto
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC), Animal Nutrition Department, Profesor Albareda 1,18008 Granada, Spain
J. F. Aguilera
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC), Animal Nutrition Department, Profesor Albareda 1,18008 Granada, Spain
Get access

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to study the effect of changes in either the quality or the quantity of dietary protein intake on the free essential amino acid profiles in plasma, muscle or liver of growing chickens. Following a randomized paired-feeding design based on metabolic body weight (kg M0·75), White Rock male broilers were allocated to one of three isoenergetic (14·5 kJ metabolizable energy per g dry matter (DM)) semisynthetic diets containing different levels of protein (60, 120, 180 or 240 g/kg DM). All diets were based on soya-bean meal, as the sole source of protein, either unsupplemented (diets S) or supplemented with 20 g/kg L-lysine (diets SL) or 2 g/kg DL-methionine (diets SM). Samples of blood, biceps muscle and liver were taken and amino acid analysis was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Plasma was only adequate to detect the effect of the supplementation with methionine to balance the dietary amino acid (AA) profile. Plasma concentrations of free methionine significantly increased as a result of the supplementation with methionine (P < 0·001) and remained unaffected by the amount of protein ingested. When lysine was added to diets S to induce an AA imbalance, a significant increase in muscle concentrations of free valine, isoleucine and phenylalanine (P <0·05) and a significant decrease in liver concentrations of free arginine and phenylalanine were observed (P<0·05). The supplementation with DL-methionine gave rise to a significant fall in the concentrations of free histidine, glycine and threonine (P < 0·05) and increased those of isoleucine and methionine in the skeletal muscle (P < 0·05), while in liver it significantly lowered the concentrations of free arginine, valine, leucine, phenylalanine and methionine (P < 0·001 to P < 0·05) and raised that of free glycine (P < 0·001). The ratios lysine: phenylalanine, lysine: valine and methionine: glycine in muscle together with that of methionine: glycine in liver seem to be appropriate indexes of the adequacy of the dietary AA profile to requirements.

Keywords

fowlsfree amino acidsprotein contentprotein quality
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 64 , Issue 3 , June 1997 , pp. 529 - 539
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural Research Council. 1975. The nutrient requirements of farm livestock: no. 1, poultry. Agricultural Research Council, London.Google Scholar
Aguilera, J. F. and Prieto, C. 1987. Necesidades energeticas de mantenimiento de polios en crecimiento. [Energy requirement for maintenance in growing chickens.] Archivos de Zootecnia 36: 165–172.Google Scholar
Block, K. P. and Harper, A. E. 1991. High levels of dietary amino and branched-chain ñ-keto acids alter plasma and brain amino acid concentrations in rats. Journal of Nurition 121: 663–671.Google Scholar
Cohen, S. A., Meys, M. and Tarvin, T. L. 1989. The pico-tag method. A manual of advanced techniques for amino analysis. Millipore Corporation, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA.Google Scholar
Dixon, J. L. and Harper, A. E. 1984. Effects on plasma amino acid concentration and hepatic branched-chain alfa-keto acid dehydrogenase activity of feeding rats diets containing 9 or 50% casein. Journal of Nutrition 114: 1025–1034.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edmonds, M. S. and Baker, D. H. 1987. Failure of excess dietary lysine to antagonize arginine in young pigs. Journal of Nutrition 117: 1396–1401CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fernández-Fígares, I., Lachica, M., Pérez, L., Nieto, R., Aguilera, J. F. and Prieto, C. 1993. The effect of dietary protein quality on free amino acids in plasma, muscle and liver of growing chickens. Animal Production 57: 309–318.Google Scholar
Fernández-Fígares, I., Nieto, R., Aguilera, J. F. and Prieto, C. 1996. The use of the excretion of nitrogen compounds as an indirect index of the adequacy of dietary protein in chickens. Animal Science 63: 307–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galibois, I., Parent, G. and Savoie, L. 1987. Effect of dietary proteins on time-dependent changes in plasma amino acid levels and on liver protein synthesis in rats. Journal of Nutrition 117: 2027–2035Google ScholarPubMed
Hagemeister, H., Scholz-Ahrens, K. E., Schulte-Coerne, H. and Barth, C. A. 1990. Plasma amino acids and cholesterol following consumption of dietary casein or soy protein in minipigs. Journal of Nutrition 120: 1305–1311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Han, Y. and Baker, D. H. 1993. Effects of excess methionine or lysine for broilers fed a corn-soyabean meal diet. Poultry Science 72: 1070–1074.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harper, A. E. 1974. Control mechanisms in amino acid metabolism. In The control of metabolism (ed. Sink, J. D.), pp. 49–74. The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA.Google Scholar
Hill, D. C., Mclndoo, E. M. and Olsen, E. M. 1961. Influence of dietary zein on the concentration of amino acids in the plasma of chicks. Journal of Nutrition 74: 16–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, D. C. and Olsen, E. M. 1963. Effect of starvation and a nonprotein diet on blood plasma amino acids, and observations on the detection of amino acids limiting growth of chicks fed purified diets. Journal of Nutrition 79: 303–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique. 1984. L'alimentation des animaux monogastriques: pork, lapin, volailles. INRA, Paris.Google Scholar
Jacobs, F. A. and Crandall, J. C. 1972. Response of tissue amino acids of the rat to casein and wheat protein diets. Nutrition Reports International 5: 27–36.Google Scholar
Jansen, G. R., Binard, R. and Longenecker, J. B. 1991. Protein quality and quantity influence free amino acid levels in the brain and serum of rats during lactation. Journal of Nutrition 121: 1187–1194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jansen, G. R., Schibly, M. B., Masor, M., Sampson, D. A. and Longenecker, J. B. 1986. Free amino acid levels during lactation in rats: effects of protein quality and protein quantity. Journal of Nutrition 116: 376–387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katz, R. S. and Baker, D. H. 1975. Methionine toxicity in the chick: nutritional and metabolic implications. Journal of Nutrition 105: 1168–1175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krebs, H. A. 1972. Some aspects of the regulation of fuel supply in omnivorous animals. Advances in Enzyme Regulation 10: 397–420.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kunachowicz, H., Klys, W. and Czarnowska-Misztal, E. 1983. Effect of dietary protein quantity and quality on free amino acids levels in the serum and muscles of experimental rats. In The fifth international symposium on protein metabolism and nutrition, INRA Publications les Colloques de l'INRA no. 16, pp. 117–120. Clermont Ferrand, France.Google Scholar
Longenecker, J. B. and Hause, N. L. 1959. Relationship between plasma amino acids and composition of the ingested protein. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 84: 46–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mandev, I. and Tomova, D. 1982. Study on the lysine and sulphur-containing amino acid requirements of broiler chickens. 2. Effect of lysine and methionine in the diet on free amino acids in blood plasma in relation to their metabolism. Zhivotnov'dni Nauki 19: 59–64.Google Scholar
May, J. D., Kubena, L. F., Reece, F. N. and Deaton, J. W. 1972. Environmental temperature and dietary lysine effects on free amino acids in plasma. Poultry Science 51: 1937–1940.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Munro, H. N. 1970. Free amino acid pools and their role in regulation. In Mammalian protein metabolism, vol. IV (ed. Munro, H. N.), pp. 299–386. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nieto, R., Palmer, R. M., Fernández-Fígares, I., Pérez, L. and Prieto, C. 1994. Effect of dietary protein quality, feed restriction and short-term fasting on protein synthesis and turnover in tissues of the growing chicken. British Journal of Nutrition 72: 499–507.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nieto, R., Prieto, C., Fernández-Fígares, I. and Aguilera, J. F. 1995. Effect of dietary protein quality on energy metabolism in growing chickens. British Journal of Nutrition 74: 163–172.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Okumura, J. and Mori, S. 1979. Effect of deficiencies of single essential amino acids on nitrogen and energy utilization in chicks. British Poultry Science 20: 421–429.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pawlak, M. and Pion, R. 1968. Influence de la supplémentation des protéines de blé par des doses croissantes de lysine sur la teneur en acides amines libres du sang et du muscle du rat en croissance. Annales de Biologic Animate, Biochemie, Biophysique 8: 517–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, J. C. and Harper, A. E. 1985. Adaptation of rats to diets containing different levels of protein: effects on food intake, plasma and brain amino acid concentrations and brain neurotransmitter metabolism. Journal of Nutrition 115: 382–398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pion, R. 1973. The relationship between the levels of free amino acids in blood and muscle and the nutritive value of proteins. In Protein in human nutrition (ed. Porter, J. W. G. and Rolls, B. A.). Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Pion, R. 1976. Dietary effects and amino acids in tissues. In Protein metabolism and nutrition (ed. Cole, D. J. A., Boorman, K. N, Buttery, P. J., Lewis, D., Neale, R. J. and Swan, H.), pp. 259–277. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Rérat, A., Jung, L. and Kandé, J. 1988. Absorption kinetics of dietary hydrolysis product in conscious pigs given diets with different amounts of fish protein. 2. Individual amino acids. British Journal of Nutrition 60: 105–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riis, P. M. 1983. The pools of cellular nutrients: amino acids. In Dynamic biochemistry of animal production (ed. Riis, P.). Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Soemitro, S., Block, K. P., Crowell, P-L. and Harper, A. E. 1989. Activities of branched-chain amino acid-degrading enzymes in liver from rats fed different dietary levels of protein. Journal of Nutrition 119: 1203–1212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Solberg, J., Buttery, P. J. and Boorman, K. N. 1971. Effect of moderate methionine deficiency on food, protein and energy utilization in the chick. British Poultry Science 12: 297–304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute. 1985. SAS procedures guide for personal computers, version 6 edition. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Summers, J. D. and Leeson, S. 1985. Broiler carcass composition as affected by amino acid supplementation. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 65: 717–723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tasaki, I. and Ohno, T. 1971. Effect of dietary protein level on plasma free amino acids in the chicken. Journal of Nutrition 101: 1225–1232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tasaki, I., Sugahara, K. and Okumura, J. 1976. Effect of amino acid deficiency on energy and protein utilization in growing chicks. In Energy metabolism offarm animals (ed. Vermorel, M.) European Association of Animal Production publication no. 19, pp. 101–104. G. de Bussac, Clermont Ferrand.Google Scholar
Tews, J. K. and Harper, A. E. 1985. Food intake, growth and tissue amino acids in rats fed amino acid analogues. Journal of Nutrition 115: 1180–1195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waterlow, J. C. and Fern, E. B. 1981. Free amino acid pools and their regulation. In Nitrogen metabolism in man (ed. Waterlow, J. C. and Stephen, J. M. L.), pp. 1–16. Applied Science Publishing Co., London.Google Scholar
Zimmerman, R. A. and Scott, H. M. 1965. Interrelationship of plasma amino acid levels and weight gain in the chick as influenced by suboptimal and superoptimal dietary concentrations of single amino acids. Journal of Nutrition 87: 13–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed