Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-06T16:44:12.928Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Body-weight loss, blood and rumen fluid characteristics and nitrogen retention in lambs in negative energy balance offered diets with differing glucogenic potential

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

A. P. Moloney
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Grange Research Centre, Dunsany, Co. Meath, Ireland
W. Moore
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Grange Research Centre, Dunsany, Co. Meath, Ireland
Get access

Abstract

The effects of altering the glucogenic potential of the diet of wether lambs (initial body weight 56·4 kg) offered an energy allowance of 0·25 that required for maintenance on body-weight loss, nitrogen retention and blood and rumen fluid parameters were examined. Whole barley was offered alone or substituted on an isoenergetic basis with 40 or 120 g of a blend of glucose precursors (polyhydric alcohols, propylene glycol, sodium propionate) absorbed on to palm kernel meal (acetona meal), to 36 lambs (no. = 12 per treatment) for 8 weeks. Substituting barley with 40 g acetona meal had a small but non-significant effect in decreasing body-weight loss and plasma aspartate amino transferase activity and in increasing plasma insulin concentration. Increasing the glucogenic potential of the diet by substituting barley with 120 g acetona meal decreased body-weight loss in the early phase of the study, decreased plasma concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids and increased the proportion of propionate in volatile fatty acids in rumen fluid, plasma aspartate amino transferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase activities and plasma insulin concentrations. Increasing the glucogenic potential of the diet did not affect nitrogen retention or plasma glucose concentration. It is concluded that increasing the glucogenic potential of the diet of lambs resulted in an increase in metabolic efficiency at the onset of negative energy balance which was mediated through a change in plasma insulin concentration. The absence of a significant difference in body-weight loss between the diets in the latter part of the study reflects the lack of sustained ketosis.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1994

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

Association of Official Analytical Chemists 1980. Official methods of analysis 13th ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Baird, G. D. 1982. Primary ketosis in the high-producing dairy cow: clinical and sub-clinical disorders, treatment, prevention, outlook. journal of Dairy Science 65: 110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauman, D. E. and Currie, W. B. 1980. Partitioning of nutrients during pregancy and lactation: a review of mechanisms involving homeostasis and homeorhesis. journal of Dairy Science 63: 15141529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blood, D. C. and Radostits, O. M. 1989. Veterinary medicine 7th ed, pp. 11281138. Bailliere Tindall, London.Google Scholar
Carter, M. L., McCutcheon, S. N. and Purchas, R. W. 1989. Plasma metabolite and hormone concentrations as predictors of genetic merit for lean meat production in sheep: effects of metabolic challenges and fasting. New Zealand journal of Agricultural Research 32: 343353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chikhou, F. H., Moloney, A. P., Austin, F. H., Roche, J. F. and Enright, W. J. 1991. Effects of cimaterol administration on plasma concentrations of various hormones and metabolites in Friesian steers. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 8: 471480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Boever, J. L., Cottyn, B. G., Buysse, F. X., Wainman, F. W. and Vanacker, J. M. 1986. The use of an enzymatic technique to predict digestibility, metabolizable and net energy of compound feedstuffs for ruminants. Animal Feed Science and Technology 14: 203214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emery, R. S., Brown, R. E. and Black, A. L. 1967. Metabolism of D, 1-1, 2-propandiol-2-14C in a lactating cow. journal of Nutrition 92: 348356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emmanuel, B. and Nahapetian, A. 1975. Effects of 1, 3 butanediol and 1,2 propanediol on blood ketone bodies and glucose in sheep fed restricted diets. journal of Animal Science 41: 14681473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, J. L. 1986. Repeated measurements: sensitive tests for experiments with few animals. journal of Animal Science 63: 943954.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamada, T., Ishii, T. and Taguchi, S. 1982. Blood changes of spontaneously ketotic cows before and four hours after administration of glucose, xylitol, 1, 2, propanediol, or magnesium propionate. journal of Dairy Science 65: 15091513.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harvey, W. R. 1985. User's guide for LSMLMW, mixed model least-sauares and maximum likelihood computer program. Ohio State University.Google Scholar
Jakob, A., Williamson, J. R. and Asakura, T. 1971. Xylitol metabolism in perfused rat liver. Interactions with gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis. journal of Biological Chemistry 246: 7623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lehninger, A. L. 1975. Biochemistry 2nd ed, chapter 10. Worth Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Li, P. K., Lee, J. T., MacGillivray, M. H., Schaefer, P. A. and Siegel, J. H. 1980. Direct, fixed-time kinetic assays for β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate with a centrifugal analyser or a computer-based spectrophotometer. Clinical Chemistry 26: 17131717.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lister, C. J. and Smithard, R. R. 1984. Effects of intraruminal administration of polyol to sheep. journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 35: 2128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1984. Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar
Moloney, A. P. and Flynn, A. V. 1992. Rumen fermentation and in sacco degradability in steers of grass hay treated with urea and sodium hydroxide, alone or in combination. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 31: 129142.Google Scholar
Poutianen, E., Tuori, M. and Sirvio, I. 1976. The fermentation of polyalcohols by rumen microbes in vitro. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 35: 140A (abstr.).Google Scholar
Thomas, P. C., Robertson, S., Chamberlain, D. G., Livingstone, R. M., Garthwaite, P. H., Dewey, P. J. S., Smart, T. and Whyte, C. 1988. Predicting the metabolizable energy (ME) content of compound feeds for ruminants. In Recent advances in animal nutrition —1988 (ed. Haresign, W. and Cole, D. J. A.), pp. 127146. Butterworths, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuori, M. and Poutianen, E. 1977. A polyol mixture or molasses treated beet pulp in the silage based diet of dairy cows. 1. The effect of the feed utilization, milk yield and blood volumes. journal of the Scientific Agricultural Society of Finland 49: 315329.Google Scholar
Warriss, P. D., Bevis, E. A., Brown, S. N. and Ashby, J. G. 1989. An examination of potential indices of fasting time in commercially slaughtered sheep. British Veterinary journal 145: 242248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
West, H. J., Bates, A. and Hynes, G. E. 1987. Changes in the concentrations of bile acids in the plasma of sheep with liver damage. Research in Veterinary Science 43: 243248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zielinski, J. and Smektala, F. 1991. Influence of acetona on some biochemical indices in cows and their offspring. Medicynia Weterinaria 47: 129130.Google Scholar