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Effect of feeding different sources of nitrogen on performance of growing pigs fed diets deficient in non-essential amino acid nitrogen

Monday, July 21, 2014: 3:00 PM
2505A (Kansas City Convention Center)
Wilfredo D Mansilla , University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
John K Htoo , Evonik Industries AG, Hanau-Wolfgang, Germany
Cornelis FM de Lange , University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
Abstract Text:

When formulating diets with low nitrogen (N) content, the supply of dietary non-essential amino acids (NEAA) is reduced and essential amino acid (EAA) may be catabolized to supply N for endogenous synthesis of NEAA, which can lead to compromised pig performance.  The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementing different sources of N in diets deficient in NEAA-N on performance of growing pigs.  In total 36 barrows (BW 15.5 ±1.0 kg) were randomly assigned to 9 different diets: a basal cornstarch and casein-based diet, not deficient in EAA but low in CP (N x 6.25; 8.01%); and the basal diet supplemented with 4 different sources of N (urea, ammonium citrate, glutamic acid and a mix of NEAA) at 2 levels each, supplying 1.37 and 2.75% additional CP, respectively.  The mix of NEAA was based on body composition of NEAA of 20 kg pigs, and aimed to minimize endogenous synthesis of NEAA.  Pigs were housed individually and fed at 3.0 x maintenance requirement for ME during 3 consecutive weeks.  BW gain was monitored weekly.  BW gain and gain:feed of pigs fed urea were lower than any other sources of N (P < 0.05), but they were similar across the other treatments (P > 0.10).  As the level of N increased, BW gain and gain:feed increased (P < 0.05).  Feeding ammonium to pigs is as efficient as supplementing glutamate or NEAA mix to support growth performance when diets are deficient in NEAA-N, while utilization of urea-N is lower.

Table 1.    BW gain, feed intake and gain:feed in growing pigs fed a diet deficient in NEAA-N supplemented with different sources of N at different levels of N supplementation.

BW gain, g/d

Feed intake, g/BW0.6/d 

Gain:feed

Source

Urea

367a

169

0.381a

Ammonia

399b

169

0.415b

Glutamate

404b

169

0.421b

NEAA mix

402b

169

0.418b

SEM

7.5

0.1

0.008

Level

0.0

363a

169

0.378a

1.37

387b

169

0.403b

2.75

429c

169

0.445c

SEM

6.4

0.01

0.007

P-value

Source

0.006

0.219

0.004

Level

<0.001

0.286

<0.001

Interaction

0.070

0.247

0.069

a,b,c Values in the same column followed by different superscripts differ (P < 0.05)

Keywords: growth, nitrogen, pig