These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed


  • Title: Net absorption and utilization of nitrogenous compounds across ruminal, intestinal, and hepatic tissues of growing beef steers fed dry-rolled or steam-flaked sorghum grain.
    Author: Theurer CB, Huntington GB, Huber JT, Swingle RS, Moore JA.
    Journal: J Anim Sci; 2002 Feb; 80(2):525-32. PubMed ID: 11881937.
    Abstract:
    Our objectives were to determine effects of grain processing on splanchnic (gut tissues and liver) N metabolism and whole-body N balance by growing steers and to ascertain the relative contributions of ruminal and intestinal tissues to net absorption and utilization of N-containing nutrients. Seven beef steers (348 kg initial BW), surgically implanted with appropriate catheters, were fed diets containing 77% steam-flaked (SF) or dry-rolled (DR) sorghum grain. Blood flows and net output or uptake of ammonia N, urea N, and alpha-amino N (estimate of amino acids) were measured across portal-drained viscera (PDV or gut tissues) and intestinal, ruminal, hepatic, and splanchnic tissues (PDV + hepatic). The experimental design was a crossover between DR and SF diets, with six samplings of blood at 2-h intervals on 2 d for each steer. Nitrogen intake (139 +/- 3 g/d), output in urine (43 +/- 2 g/d), and retention (40 +/- 3 g/d) were similar for both processing treatments. When steers were fed SF sorghum compared to DR sorghum, N retention as a percentage of N intake was numerically greater (P < 0.12), output of fecal N was numerically lower (P < 0.13), and urinary urea N was lower (P < 0.04). For SF vs DR, net uptake of alpha-amino N by liver was higher (P < 0.04; 20 vs 9 g/d) and was numerically lower (P < 0.16) for ruminal tissues (15 vs 33 g/d). Feeding steers SF compared to DR tended to increase net transfer (cycling) of blood urea N to PDV (57 vs 41 g/d; P < 0.07), increased cycling to intestinal tissues (15 vs 6 g/d; P < 0.05), and numerically increased transfer to ruminal tissues (42 vs 32 g/d; P < 0.12) but did not alter other net output or uptake of N across splanchnic tissues. Total urea N transfer (blood + saliva) was similar for both treatments. Net uptake of alpha-amino N by ruminal tissues was about 30% of the net amount of alpha-amino N absorbed across the intestinal tissues. In summary, most of the blood urea N cycled from the liver to gut tissues was transferred to ruminal tissues for potential microbial protein synthesis, and the net ruminal utilization of alpha-amino N was about 30% of that absorbed from intestinal tissues. Feeding growing steers SF compared to DR sorghum diets numerically increased whole-body N retention (percentage of N intake) by about 15% and tended to increase transfer of blood urea N to the gut by about 40%, which could increase the supply of high-quality microbial protein for absorption.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]