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Nutrient Physiology, Metabolism, and Nutrient-Nutrient Interactions

Oral N-Carbamylglutamate Supplementation Increases Protein Synthesis in Skeletal Muscle of Piglets¹

² USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030-2600 and ³ Department of Animal Science and Faculty of Nutrition, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2471

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jfrank{at}uark.edu.

This study investigated the potential mechanisms by which oral supplementation of N-carbamylglutamate (NCG), an analogue of endogenous N-acetylglutamate (an activator of arginine synthesis) increases growth rate in sow-reared piglets. Two piglets of equal body weight (BW) and of the same gender from each lactating sow were allotted to receive oral administration of 0 (control) or 50 mg of NCG/kg BW every 12 h for 7 d. Piglets (n = 32; BW = 3 kg) were studied in the food-deprived or fed state following the 7 d of treatment. Overnight food-deprived piglets were given NCG or water (control) at time 0 and 60 min. Piglets studied in the fed state were gavage-fed sow's milk with their respective NCG treatment at 0 and 60 min. At 60 min, the piglets were administered a flooding dose of [³H]phenylalanine and killed at 90 min to measure tissue protein synthesis. Piglets treated with NCG gained 28% more weight than control pigs (P < 0.001) over the 7-d period. Fed pigs had greater rates of protein synthesis in longissimus dorsi and gastrocnemius muscles and duodenum compared with food-deprived pigs (P < 0.001). Absolute protein synthesis rates in longissimus dorsi (P = 0.050) and gastrocnemius (P = 0.068) muscles were 30 and 21% greater, respectively, in NCG-treated compared with control pigs. Piglets supplemented with NCG also had greater plasma concentrations of arginine and somatotropin than control pigs (P < 0.001). The results suggest that oral NCG supplementation increases plasma arginine and somatotropin levels, leading to an increase in growth rate and muscle protein synthesis in nursing piglets.

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