ARS | Publication request: CHARACTERIZING HUNGER IN SWINE UTILIZING A VARIETY OF METABOLIC PARAMETERS DURING 36 H OF IMPOSED FEED DEPRIVATION

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: April 21, 2005
Publication Date: July 24, 2005
Citation: Toscano, M.J., Lay Jr, D.C., Pajor, E.A., Craig, B.A. 2005. Characterizing hunger in swine utilizing a variety of metabolic parameters during 36 h of imposed feed deprivation. Journal of Animal Science. 83(1):324.

Technical Abstract: To develop a uniform index of hunger that diets could be compared against, individually penned barrows (90.05 ± 0.73 kg BW) were acclimatized over 5 d to an ad-libitum, 3 h feeding routine beginning at 8:00. On d 6, animals began 36 h of feed deprivation (DEP, n=17/trt) or continued their normal feeding routine (CON, n=18/trt). Blood was collected from all animals at 0, 6, 12, 24, and 36 h during the deprivation period and assayed for non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), insulin, glucose, and glucagon. Analysis revealed that the CON animals had greater glucose (87.2 ± 1.0 mg/dL vs. 80.1 ± 1.1 mg/dL), insulin (8.4 ± 0.7 µIU/ml vs. 3.6 ± 1.1 µIU/ml) and glucagon concentrations (55.1 ± 2.6 pg/ml vs. 37.4 ± 1.8 pg/ml) than their DEP counterparts (p < 0.004), although the NEFA concentrations were greater in DEP animals (p < 0.001, 0.29 ± 0.01 mEq/L vs. 0.55 ± 0.02 mEq/L). A time treatment interaction (p < 0.002) was revealed for all measures with the exception of glucose (p > 0.1). Interestingly, in contrast to CON animals, glucagon concentrations of DEP animals remained unchanged while insulin concentrations fell from a 0 h initial baseline and remained at a reduced concentration. When used in combination with behavioral and other measures, differential responses such as those reported here can be used to indicate the severity of specific dietary manipulations on hunger in livestock.