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Tryptophan Requirements and the Effects of Supplemental Tryptophan on Growth Performance, Plasma Metabolites, and Meat Quality in Nursery, Growing, and Finishing Pigs

This research was conducted to estimate the true digestible Trp (dTrp) requirements in nursery, growing, and late finishing pigs and the effects of supplemental Trp on physiology, behavior, and meat quality. Five experiments were conducted to estimate the dTrp requirement in nursery pigs. Using broken-line regression analysis, dTrp requirements were 0.21, 0.20, and 0.18% for Phase I (5.2 to 7.3 kg), II (6.3 to 10.2 kg), and III (10.3 to 15.7) nursery pigs. In addition, four experiments were conducted to estimate the dTrp requirements in growing and finishing pigs. Using broken-line regression analysis, the dTrp requirement of pigs weighing 30.9, 51.3, and 74.6 to 104.5 kg was 0.167, 0.134, and 0.102%, respectively. An experiment also was conducted to determine the ratio of Trp:Lys and Thr:Lys in diets for nursery pigs (7.1 to 15.6 kg BW). The treatments were arranged in a 3 x 3 factorial with three ratios of true digestible Thr:Lys (0.55, 0.60, or 0.65) and three ratios of true digestible Trp:Lys (0.145, 0.170, or 0.195). Overall, optimal performance was in pigs fed the true digestible Trp:Lys ratio of 0.195 at Thr:Lys ratios 0.60 and 0.65. These results indicate that dietary levels of Trp above 0.19% may be needed to maximize growth performance in diets containing wheat and barley. Four experiments were conducted to determine the effects of supplemental Trp on meat quality and plasma and salivary cortisol and plasma lactate in growing pigs. Pigs fed the diet with supplemental Trp had lower (P < 0.01) mean plasma cortisol and lactate (P < 0.07) concentration than pigs fed the basal diet. Meat quality effects varied, but overall, results indicated that Trp had no positive effect on meat quality. Lastly, a study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Trp on growth, behavior, intestinal morphology, and brain and plasma metabolites subsequent to weaning and mixing. Cortisol was decreased (P < 0.07) after mixing in pigs fed Trp. Brain metabolites also were increased (P < 0.09) by Trp. Tryptophan supplementation has varied effects on growth performance, behavior, physiology, and meat quality in pigs.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-0711102-174326
Date12 July 2002
CreatorsGuzik, Amy Christina
ContributorsJack Losso, Theresia Lavergne, L. Lee Southern, J. Marcos Fernandez, Tom Bidner
PublisherLSU
Source SetsLouisiana State University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-0711102-174326/
Rightsunrestricted, I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University Libraries in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation.

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