Table 3.
Effects of proline supplementation on growth performance of weanling piglets
| Treatment | Dry matter intake Days 21–35 [g/(kg bodyweight × day)] |
Plasma proline (mM) | Bodyweight
|
Bodyweight gain Days 21–35 (g/d) |
Jejunal villus heighta (μm) | Small intestinal weight (g) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 21 (kg) |
Day 35 (kg) |
||||||
| Alanine | 32.7 ± 1.9 | 0.32 ± 0.02 | 5.82 ± 0.05 | 8.04 ± 0.08 | 159 ± 3.8 | 274 ± 6.1 | 291 ± 4.2 |
| Proline | 33.1 ± 2.1 | 0.41 ± 0.03† | 5.85 ± 0.06 | 8.39 ± 0.09† | 181 ± 4.5† | 319 ± 7.7† | 323 ± 5.0† |
Values are means ± SEM, n = 18 for feed intake, jejunal villus height, and small-intestinal weight; n = 36 for other parameters. Pigs were weaned at 21 days of age to a corn- and soybean meal-based diet (Wu et al. 1996) supplemented with 0.775% L-alanine (isonitrogenous control) or 1% L-proline. There were two pigs per pen. Amino acids were added to the basal diets at the expense of cornstarch. On day 35 of age, blood samples were obtained from jugular vein 1 h after feeding, and plasma was obtained for proline analysis (Wu 1993)
P < 0.05 versus the Alanine group
A different study was conducted to determine jejunal villus height on day 7 postweaning (Wu et al. 1996) as described above, except that pigs were euthanized on this day to obtain the jejunum. The depth of lamina propria was 240 ± 5 and 253 ± 6 μm, respectively, for the alanine and proline groups