ARS | Publication request: ORAL N-CARBAMYLGLUTAMATE (NCG) SUPPLEMENTATION INCREASES GROWTH RATE IN SOW-REARED PIGLETS

Submitted to: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 6, 2006
Publication Date: April 1, 2006
Citation: Frank, J.W., Escobar, J., Nguyen, H.V., Jobgen, S.C., Davis, T.A., Wu, G. 2006. Oral N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) supplementation increases growth rate in sow-reared piglets [abstract]. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference: Advancing the Biomedical Frontier, April 1-5, 2006, San Francisco, California. 20(4):Part I, p. A425.

Technical Abstract: Oral supplementation of NCG, an analogue of N-acetylglutamate, increases plasma arginine concentrations and growth rate in sow-reared piglets. To investigate the mechanism involved in this growth response, nursing piglets (n = 18; BW = 3.19 kg) were orally administered 0 or 50 mg/kg BW of NCG twice daily from 9 to 16 d of age. On d 17, piglets were intragastrically fed sow's milk at a rate of 7.5 ml/kg, with the respective NCG treatment at time 0 and 60 min, then given an i.v. flooding dose of [(3)H]phenylalanine to measure protein synthesis. At 90 min, the piglets were euthanized and tissue samples were collected. NCG-treated pigs gained 25% more weight during the 8-d trial than control pigs (1.93 +/- 0.07 vs. 1.55 +/- 0.10 kg, respectively; P<0.01). Tissue mass and protein synthesis rate of longissimus dorsi were 16% and 20% greater respectively, in NCG-treated pigs compared to control pigs; however, these increases did not reach statistical significance. NCG-treated pigs had 29% higher plasma insulin concentrations at 90 min compared to control pigs, but this difference was not statistically significant. Plasma arginine concentrations were 32% higher in NCG-treated pigs compared to control pigs at 90 min (P<0.05). Although the exact mechanism has not been delineated, it appears that oral NCG administration increases plasma arginine levels leading to an increase in growth rate of nursing piglets.