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Nutritional and Metabolic Effects of Dietary Leucine Excess in Preruminant Lamb

Laboratoire d'Etude du Métabolisme Azoté, INRA Theix, 63122 Ceyrat, France

The effects of excess leucine intake on food intake, branched-chain amino acid and branched-chain -keto acid concentrations in plasma and nitrogen retention were investigated in the preruminant lamb. Lambs were fed leucine in excess in either an adequate protein diet [24% of dry matter (DM)] or a low protein diet (15% DM) for 2 d. Increasing the dietary leucine content of 2.3 to 10.6 or 12.6% DM led to a significant decrease in food intake. This depressing effect was not influenced by dietary protein content. Increasing the dietary leucine content from 2.3 to 6.4% DM in an adequate protein diet for a week did not significantly improve nitrogen retention in the preruminant lamb. Plasma leucine and its -keto acid concentrations increased with leucine intake. Plasma valine and isoleucine concentrations were significantly decreased only in lambs fed the highest excess leucine diet. Surprisingly, a maximal 50% decrease of their plasma -keto acid concentrations occurred even in the group fed the lowest excess leucine diet. Our results might be explained by an inhibition of the rate of transamination of valine and isoleucine by high leucine concentration.

KEY WORDS: • preruminant lamb • excess leucine diet • food intake • branched-chain amino acids • branched-chain keto acids

Manuscript received 8 July 1987. Revision accepted 22 December 1987.

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