β-Alanine decreases plasma taurine but improves nitrogen utilization efficiency in beef steers
Shuo Zhang1, Yufeng Liu1, Jinming Hu1
1State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Supplementing beef steers with rumen-protected β-alanine (RPβA) reduced taurine levels and improved nitrogen retention and utilization efficiency. This suggests RPβA can enhance nitrogen metabolism in cattle by altering amino acid profiles and metabolic pathways.
Area of Science:
- Animal Nutrition
- Ruminant Physiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Rumen-protected taurine (RPT) supplementation enhances nitrogen (N) metabolism in beef steers.
- Understanding taurine's role in N metabolism requires investigating the effects of taurine depletion.
- Rumen-protected β-alanine (RPβA) acts as a taurine inhibitor, making it a tool to study taurine depletion effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of taurine depletion, induced by RPβA supplementation, on apparent nitrogen retention (ANR) and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) in beef steers.
- To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, including changes in plasma amino acid profiles, hormonal status, and muscle gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Six beef steers were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design.
- Dietary treatments involved three levels of RPβA (0, 17.5, and 35 g/d) over 20-day periods.
- Measurements included plasma taurine, urinary taurine excretion, plasma amino acids, growth hormone, IGF-1, antioxidant capacity, protein degradation rate, and muscle mRNA expression.
Main Results:
- RPβA supplementation linearly decreased plasma and urinary taurine concentrations.
- RPβA supplementation linearly increased apparent nitrogen retention (ANR) and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE).
- RPβA increased plasma concentrations of essential amino acids (methionine, lysine, threonine), growth hormone, IGF-1, and total antioxidant capacity, while tending to decrease protein degradation.
Conclusions:
- RPβA supplementation effectively reduces taurine levels and improves ANR and NUE in beef steers.
- These improvements are mediated by modulation of plasma amino acid profiles and metabolomic pathways, counteracting potential negative impacts of taurine depletion on N metabolism.
- RPβA influences arginine-proline metabolism and the AMPK signaling pathway, offering insights into nitrogen utilization mechanisms in cattle.
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