Volume 6,Issue 3
Study on the Effects of AKG on Amino Acid Metabolism in Growing Pigs Fed a High-Fat Diet
To observe the effects of different doses of α-ketoglutarate (AKG) on amino acid metabolism in the tissues of growing pigs fed a high-fat diet. Forty growing pigs were selected and divided into 4 groups with 10 pigs in each group. The control group was fed only a basal diet, while the experimental groups were fed a high-fat diet: Experimental Group I (0.5% AKG + high-fat diet), Experimental Group II (1% AKG + high-fat diet), and Experimental Group III (1.5% AKG + high-fat diet). After the feeding period, the small intestine, cecum, colon, serum, liver, and leg muscle were collected to detect amino acid composition. Compared with the control group, the addition of AKG significantly increased the serum content of some glucogenic amino acids, the branched-chain amino acid Ile, and the aromatic amino acid Trp (p<0.05); in the liver, AKG significantly decreased the content of some glucogenic and aromatic amino acids (p<0.05); in the leg muscle, the addition of AKG extremely significantly decreased the content of branched-chain and aromatic amino acids (p<0.01). The addition of AKG delayed weight gain in growing pigs by reducing the content of glucogenic amino acids in the liver and muscles, and had a protective effect on the intestinal mucosal morphology of growing pigs fed a high-fat diet.
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