Imbalanced dietary methionine-to-sulfur amino acid ratio can affect amino acid profiles, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal morphology of piglets

Animal protein sources such as fishmeal and plasma powder are excellent and indispensable sources of energy,amino acid s,and minerals in animal production.Amino acid imbalance,especially methionine-to-sulfur amino acid(Met:SAA)ratio,caused by an imbalance of animal protein meal leads to growth restriction.This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of imbalanced Met:SAA ratio supplementation of different animal protein source diets on growth performance,plasma amino acid profiles,antioxidant capacity and intestinal morphology in a piglet model.Twenty-four weaned piglets(castrated males;BW=10.46±0.34 kg),assigned randomly into 3 groups(8 piglets/group),were fed for 28 d.Three experimental diets of equal energy and crude protein levels were as follows:1)a corn-soybean basal diet with a Met:SAA ratio at 0.51(BD);2)a plasma powder diet with a low Met:SAA ratio at 0.41(L-MR);3)a fishmeal diet with a high Met:SAA ratio at0.61(H-MR).Results revealed that compared to BD,L-MR significantly decreased(P<0.05)the activities of plasma total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase,plasma amino acid profiles,and significantly reduced(P<0.05)villus height and crypt depth in the duodenum and jejunum.Additionally,L-MR significantly reduced(P<0.05)the mRNA expression level of solute carrier family 7 member 9(SIC7 A9)in the ileum,and significantly increased(P<0.05)mRNA expression levels of zonula occludens-1(ZO-1)in the duodenum,and Claudin-1,ZO-1,sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporters 2(SNAT2)and SIC7 A7 in the j ejunum.HMR significantly increased(P<0.05)plasma SAA levels,and significantly reduced(P<0.05)average daily feed intake,villus height,and villus height-to-crypt depth(VH:CD)ratio in the ileum compared to BD.In conclusion,L-MR may result in oxidative stress and villous atrophy but proves beneficial in improving intestinal barrier function and the activity of amino acid transporters for compensatory growth.H-MR may impair intestinal growth and development for weaned piglets.The research provides a guidance on the adequate Met:SAA ratio(0.51)supplementation in diet structure for weaned piglets.

Effects of biscuit-type feeding supplementation on the neurocognitive outcomes of HIV-affected school-age children:a randomized,double-blind,controlled intervention trial in Kenya

Objective:To determine if meat or soy protein dietary supplementation will enhance the neuro-cognitive performance of HIV-affected children at-risk of malnutrition and food insecurity.Methods:A randomized,double-blind,controlled intervention trial evaluated the effect of nu-tritional supplementation on the neurocognitive outcomes of 49 HIV-affected school-age children in western Kenya.The intervention consisted in providing the mother,target child,and siblings with one of three isocaloric biscuit-type supplements-soy,wheat,or beef-on 5 days per week for 18 months.Neurocognitive outcomes of the target children were assessed by a battery of eight measures and followed up longitudinally for up to 24 months.Results:Mixed effects modeling demonstrated significant differences in the rates of increase over time among all three groups(F test degrees of freedom of 2,P<0.05)for Raven’s progressive matrices performance,but not for verbal meaning,arithmetic,digit span backward,forward,and total,embedded figure test,and Beery visual-motor integration scores.Conclusion:HIV-affected school-age children provided with soy protein supplementation showed greater improvement in nonverbal cognitive(fluid intelligence)performance compared with peers who received isocaloric beef or wheat biscuits.Soy nutrients may have an enhancing effect on neurocognitive skills in HIV-affected school-age children.