This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of excess arginine on the growth, feed efficiency, and plasma and arginine levels of weanling pigs

Hagemeier, D. L.

Libal, G. W.

Wahlstrom, R. C.

English

Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange

South Dakota State UniversityOpen PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information ExchangeSouth Dakota Swine Field Day Proceedings andResearch Reports, 1981 Animal Science Reports1981Effects of Excess Arginine on Lysine Utilization inWeaned PigsD. L. HagemeierSouth Dakota State UniversityG. W. LibalR. C. WahlstromFollow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_swine_1981This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Reports at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in South Dakota Swine Field Day Proceedings and Research Reports, 1981 byan authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For moreinformation, please contact michael.biondo@sdstate.edu.Recommended CitationHagemeier, D. L.; Libal, G. W.; and Wahlstrom, R. C., "Effects of Excess Arginine on Lysine Utilization in Weaned Pigs" (1981). SouthDakota Swine Field Day Proceedings and Research Reports, 1981. Paper 4.http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_swine_1981/4SWINE DAY ~FFECTS OF EXCESS ARGININE ON LYSINE UTILIZATION IN WEANED PIGS D. L. Hagemeier, G. w. Libal And R. C. Wahlstrom DEPT, OF ANIMAL SCIENCE REPORT SWINE 81-3 Much attention has been focused recently on the use of "balanced protein" feeds for swine. By using different combinations of protein sources and some synthetic amino acids, a more balanced array of essential amino acids can be achieved in the feed. This will reduce the amount of excess or "wasted" essential amino acids present in the diet, and it may also reduce or eliminate any specific antagonisms that might exist between two amino acids. One possible antagonism is the relationship between lysine and arginine. In a corn-soybean meal starter diet, lysine is the first-limiting amino acid while arginine is present at levels approximately five times the amount required by the pig. Research at other universities has indicated that very high levels of dietary arginine can inhibit the absorption of lysine from the small intestine, making less lysine available to the pig for growth. This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of excess arginine on the growth, feed efficiency, and plasma lysine and arginine levels of weanling pigs. Experimental Procedure A total of 96 4-week-old weanling pigs with an average initial weight of 18.1 pounds were allotted to four replications of the six treatments shown in table 1. There were four pigs per pen for a total of 16 pigs per treatment. The pigs were housed in the environmentally controlled swine room in the Animal Science Complex during the 4-week study. The six treatments were in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement, with two levels of lysine (.90% and 1.15%) and three levels of arginine (.90%, 1.20% and 1.15%) used. The lower lysine level was considered to be marginally adequate for the size of pigs used in this experiment, while the higher lysine level was considered adequate to support maximum growth in those pigs. The basal diet was formulated to have a low arginine/lysine ratio, and then synthetic arginine and lysine were added to create the six treatments shown in table 1. This approach was used so that arginine levels could be varied while the source and level of natural protein remained constant across treat-ments, thus eliminating any confounding effects of changing protein sources. 7 - 2 -TABLE 1. PERCENT COMPOSITION OF DIETS Total arginine, % .90 1.20 1.50 .90 1.20 1.50 Total lysine, % .90 .90 .90 1.15 1.15 1.15 Arginine/lysine ratio 1.00 l. 33 1.67 .78 1.04 1.30 Corn 34.92 34.55 34.18 34.60 34.23 33.86 Rolled oats groats 48.87 48.87 48.87 48.87 48.87 48.87 Fish meal 3.50 3.50 3.50 3.50 3.50 3.50 Dried skim milk 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 Dicalcium phosphate 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 Limestone .54 .54 .54 .54 .54 .54 Vitamin antibiotic pre~ix a .44 .44 .44 .44 .44 .44 Trace mineralized salt .50 .50 .50 .so .50 .50 L-lysine HCl .20 .20 .20 .52 .52 .52 L-arginine HCL .37 .74 .37 .74 aSupplied per pound of diet: vitamin A, 2000 ID; vitamin D, 200 IU; vitamin E, 4 IU; vitamin K, 1.6 mg; riboflavin, 2 mg; pantothenic acid, 8 mg; niacin, 12.8 mg; choline, 80 mg; vitamin B , 8 mcg; selenium, 72 mcg; penicillin, 25 mg; aureomycin, 50 mg; sultamethazine, 50 mg; zinc,b40 milligrams . . 8% zinc. Results The results of the experiment are summarized in table 2. The addition of arginine to the diets had no effect on average daily gain or average daily feed intake except that pigs fed the high lysine/medium arginine diet gained TABLE 2. EFFECT OF EXCESS ARGININE ON PIG PERFORMANCE AND PLASMA AMINO ACIDS Dietary arginine, % .90 1.20 1.50 .90 1.20 Dietary lysine, % .90 .90 .90 1.15 1.15 Arginine/lysine ratio 1.00 1.33 1.67 .78 1.04 Initial pig wt, lb 18. 1 18 .1 18 .1 18.1 18.1 4-week pig wt, lb 38.0 37.6 36.4 40.4 37.2 Average daily gain, lba . 71 .70 .65 .80 .67 Average d~ily feed, lba 1.43 1.41 1.39 1.51 1.30 Feed/gain 2.01 2.02 2.13 1.89 1.94 Plasma ly~ige, mg/100 ml plasma ' 1.96 1.94 1. 76 4.92 4.59 Plasma arBi~ine, mg/100 ml I plasma ' 3.47 4.10 4.75 3.02 3.92 :Quadratic effect of arginine at high level of lysine (P<.05). Linear effect of arginine at low level of lysine (P<.05). ~Lysine effect (P<.01). Linear effect of arginine at high level of lysine (P<.06). eLinear effect of arginine at high level of lysine (P<.01). 8 1.50 1.15 1.30 18.1 40.4 .79 1. 51 1.91 4.20 5.32 ~ 3 -less weight and ate less feed than those pigs fed the high lysine/low argi-nine diet or the high lysine/high arginine diet. This result is inconclusive and is probably due to the fact that two pigs fed the high lysine/medium arginine diet performed poorly and their performance was not representative of other pigs fed this diet. The pigs fed the low lysine/high arginine diet were significantly less efficient than those on the low lysine/low arginine and low lysine/medium arginine diet. Although the difference was statistically significant, more research is necessary to verify this effect. When pigs were fed the high lysine diets, additions of arginine to the feed resulted in a linear decrease in blood plasma lysine levels. Apparently the medium and high levels of dietary arginine interfered with the absorption of lysine from the small intestine into the blood. However, there was no corresponding decrease in pig performance, suggesting the pigs had enough lysine to support normal growth in spite of their reduced plasma lysine levels. High dietary arginine did not affect plasma lysine levels in pigs fed low lysine diets. Pigs fed the low lysine/high arginine diet had slightly lower plasma lysine levels, but the decrease was not significant. Pigs tended to gain faster and be more efficient on the high lysine diets as compared to the low lysine diets, but the effect was not significant. The addition of lysine to the diet increased plasma lysine levels, and argi-nine additions increased plasma arginine levels. The latter two results are to be expected, as more of those amino acids would be absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream. Summary A 4-week growth trial was conducted to determine the effect of excess arginine on lysine utilization in a group of 96 weaned pigs weighing 18.1 pounds initially. Lysine levels of .90% and 1.15% and arginine levels of .90%, 1.20% and 1.50% were used in a 2 x 3 factorial design. Excess arginine had no effect on daily gain or feed intake. Pigs fed the low lysine/high arginine diet required more feed per pound of gain, but more research is necessary to verify this effect. Excess arginine depressed plasma lysine levels of pigs fed 1.15% lysine but not plasma lysine levels of pigs fed .90% lysine. Overall, the results of this experiment were incon-clusive but showed some evidence that excess dietary arginine may interfere with lysine utilization in weaned pigs. Further research is being conducted in our laboratory to study the relationship between lysine and arginine. 9 

Effects of Excess Arginine on Lysine Utilization in Weaned Pigs

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Effects of Excess Arginine on Lysine Utilization in Weaned Pigs

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