Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:57:29.245Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effect of abomasal glucose infusion on alanine metabolism and urea production in sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

T. Obitsu*
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
D. Bremner
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
E. Milne
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
G. E. Lobley
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr T. Obitsu, fax +81 824 22 7067, email tobitsu@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The effect of abomasal infusion of glucose (120 kJ/d per kg body weight (BW)0·75, 758 mmol/d) on urea production, plasma alanine-N flux rate and the conversion of alanine-N to urea was studied in sheep offered a low-N diet at limited energy intake (500 kJ/d per kg BW0·75), based on hay and grass pellets. Glucose provision reduced urinary N (P = 0·040) and urea (P = 0·009) elimination but this was offset by poorer N digestibility. Urea-N production was significantly reduced (822 v. 619 mmol/d, P = 0·024) by glucose while plasma alanine-N flux rate was elevated (295 v. 342 mmol/d, P = 0·011). The quantity of urea-N derived from alanine tended to be decreased by glucose (127 v. 95 mmol/d) but the fraction of urea production from alanine was unaltered (15 %). Plasma urea and alanine concentrations (plus those of the branched chain amino acids) decreased in response to exogenous glucose, an effect probably related to enhanced anabolic usage of amino acids and lowered urea production.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2000

References

Agricultural and Food Research Council (1993) Energy and Protein Requirements of Ruminants. Wallingford: CAB International.Google Scholar
Ahmed, BM, Bergen, WG and Ames, AK (1983) Effect of nutritional state and insulin on hind-limb amino acid metabolism in steers. Journal of Nutrition 113, 15291543.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Balcells, J, Seal, CJ and Parker, DS (1995) Effect of intravenous glucose infusion on metabolism of portal-drained viscera in sheep fed a cereal/straw-based diet. Journal of Animal Science 73, 21462155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brockman, RP, Bergman, EN, Joo, PK and Manns, JG (1975) Effects of glucagon and insulin on net hepatic metabolism of glucose precursors in sheep. American Journal of Physiology 229, 13441350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calder, AG and Smith, A (1988) Stable isotope ratio analysis of leucine and ketoisocaproic acid in blood plasma by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Use of tertiary butyldimethylsilyl derivatives. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 2, 1416.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eskeland, B, Pfander, WH and Preston, RL (1974) Intravenous energy infusion in lambs: effects on nitrogen retention, plasma free amino acids and plasma urea nitrogen. British Journal of Nutrition 31, 201211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jahoor, F and Wolfe, RR (1987) Regulation of urea production by glucose infusion in vivo. American Journal of Physiology 253, E543E550.Google ScholarPubMed
Judson, G and Leng, RA (1973) Studies on the control of gluconeogenesis in sheep: effect of glucose infusion. British Journal of Nutrition 29, 159174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kreikemeier, KK and Harmon, DL (1995) Abomasal glucose, maize starch and maize dextrin infusions in cattle: small-intestinal disappearance, net portal glucose flux and ileal oligosaccharide flow. British Journal of Nutrition 73, 763772.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lobley, GE, Bremner, D, Nieto, R, Obitsu, T, Hotston, Moore A and Brown, DS (1998) Transfers of N-metabolites across the ovine liver in response to short-term infusions of an amino acid mixture into the mesenteric vein. British Journal of Nutrition 80, 371379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lobley, GE, Connell, A, Lomax, MA, Brown, DS, Milne, E, Calder, AG and Farningham, DAH (1995) Hepatic detoxification of ammonia in the ovine liver: possible consequences for amino acid catabolism. British Journal of Nutrition 73, 667685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lobley, GE, Connell, A, Revell, DK, Bequette, BJ, Brown, DS and Calder, AG (1996) Splanchnic-bed transfers of amino acids in sheep blood and plasma, as monitored through use of a multiple U-13C-labelled amino acid mixture. British Journal of Nutrition 75, 217235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lobley, GE and Milano, GD (1997) Regulation of hepatic nitrogen metabolism in ruminants. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 56, 547563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lobley, GE, Weijs, PJM, Connell, A, Calder, AG, Brown, DS and Milne, E (1996) The fate of absorbed and exogenous ammonia as influenced by forage or forage-concentrate diets in growing sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 76, 231248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacRae, JC and Egan, AR (1983) Threonine catabolism and gluconeogenesis in pregnant ewes. British Journal of Nutrition 49, 385393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marsh, WH, Fingerhut, B and Miller, H (1965) Automated and manual direct methods for determination of blood urea. Clinical Chemistry 2, 624627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matras, J and Preston, RL (1989) The role of glucose infusion on the metabolism of nitrogen in ruminants. Journal of Animal Science 67, 16421647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Obitsu, T, Taniguchi, K and Yamatani, Y (1993) Utilization of energy and nitrogen in early weaned calves nourished by intragastric infusion: effects of the proportion of volatile fatty acids infused into the rumen, with abomasal infusion of glucose and casein. Animal Science and Technology (Japan) 64, 692699.Google Scholar
Patterson, BW, Carraro, F and Wolfe, RR (1993) Measurement of 15N enrichment of multiple amino acids and urea in a single analysis by gas chomatography/mass spectrometry. Biological Mass Spectrometry 22, 518523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perriello, G, Jorde, R, Nurjhan, N, Stumvoll, M, Dailey, G, Jenssen, T, Bier, DM and Gerich, JE (1995) Estimation of glucose–alanine–lactate–glutamine cycles in post-absorptive humans — role of skeletal muscle. American Journal of Physiology 32, E443E450.Google Scholar
Piccioli, Cappelli F, Seal, CJ and Parker, DS (1997) Glucose and [13C]leucine metabolism by the portal-drained viscera of sheep fed on dried grass with acute intravenous and intraduodenal infusions of glucose. British Journal of Nutrition 78, 931946.Google Scholar
Reynolds, CK and Tyrell, HF (1991) Effects of mesenteric vein L-alanine infusion on liver metabolism in beef heifers fed on diets differing in forage: concentrate ratio. British Journal of Nutrition 66, 437450.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robert, JJ, Bier, DM, Zhao, XH, Matthews, DE and Young, VR (1982) Glucose and insulin effects on de novo amino acid synthesis in young men: studies with stable isotope labelled alanine, glycine, leucine and lysine. Metabolism 31, 12101218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seal, CJ and Reynolds, CK (1993) Nutritional implication of gastrointestinal and liver metabolism in ruminants. Nutrition Research Reviews 6, 185208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolff, JE and Bergman, EN (1972) Glucogenesis from plasma amino acids in fed sheep. American Journal of Physiology 223, 455460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolff, JE and Bergman, EN (1972) Metabolism and interconversion of five plasma amino acids by tissues of the fed sheep. American Journal of Physiology 223, 447454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfe, RR, Shaw, JHF, Jahoor, F, Herdon, DN and Wolfe, MH (1986) Response to glucose infusion in humans: role of change in insulin concentration. American Journal of Physiology 250, E306E311.Google ScholarPubMed
Wolthers, BG, Tepper, T, Withag, A, Nagel, GT, de Haan, THY, van Leeuwen, JJ, Stegemen, CA and Huisman, RM (1994) GC–MS determination of ratios of stable-isotope labelled to natural urea using [13C15N2]urea for studying urea kinetics in serum and as a means to validate routine methods for the quantitative assay of urea in dialysate. Clinica Chimica Acta 225, 2942.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, RD, Matthews, DE, Bier, DM, Lo, C and Young, VR (1984) Alanine kinetics in humans: influence of different isotopic tracers. American Journal of Physiology 247, E634E638.Google ScholarPubMed