A novel approach to determining true amino acid availability and requirements based on sulphur amino acid metabolism

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The pork industry is a major contributor to the Canadian agriculture economy, with an estimated farm gate income of about $3.5 billion per year. The Canadian meat processing industry has annual sales of almost $15 billion, about 40% of which is pork. Clearly, a successful pork industry is important to the overall Canadian economy. In addition, 50% of Canada's pork is exported to more than 90 nations worldwide, so it is essential that our industry remains financially competitive, produces a high quality product and maintains environment sustainability. The objective of this project is to develop an innovative and simple method for the determination of true sulphur amino acid requirements and bioavailability. Our approach is based on the broadly accepted understanding of sulphur amino acid metabolism, namely that sulphur amino acids supplied by the diet and absorbed in amounts that exceed the requirement for growth will be excreted in the urine as fre sulphate or related compounds. At the end of this project, we will provide a new approach for the determination of true sulphur amino acid requirement and bioavailability, and a method that probably could be used to determine the true amino acid requirements and availability of other amino acids by using urinary sulphate as an indicator. The concepts behind this proposed method are well established in humans and rats, s the likelihood of success is very good. Improved methods for the determination of true amino acid bioavailability has the potential to benefit Canada by providing an improved platform for the formulation of optimum feeding programs; this, in turn, will assist the pork industry in achieving the highest quality pork at the lowest possible cost, through optimum dietary amino acid content. Avoiding over formulation of amino acids will also contribute to environmental sustainability by reducing nitrogen excretion, a common outcome when diets are improperly formulated. This proposal will support the training of two graduate students plus summer students in animal nutrition, a field that continually experiences an inadequate supply of trained personnel