Effect of equi-molar dietary betaine and choline addition on performance, carcass quality and physiological parameters of pigs

Abstract

Betaine and its precursor choline were compared in their efficiency in affecting the performance, carcass traits, and liver betaine concentration of growing-finishing pigs. Individually penned Finnish Landrace and Yorkshire pigs and their crosses (30 kg; no. = 70) were offered the basal diet with no added betaine or choline, or the basal diet supplemented with low to moderate doses (250, 500 or 1000 mg/kg) of betaine (Betafin® S1), or with a similar molar amount of choline (578, 1155 or 2310 mg/kg of choline chloride). The maize-soya-bean-meal basal diet was formulated to contain 12·3 MJ/kg digestible energy, 155 g/kg crude protein and 7·4, 4·4 and 4·3 g/kg digestible lysine, threonine and methionine + cystine, respectively. Oat hull meal (100 g/kg) was added to reduce the dietary energy concentration. The pigs were on a restricted feeding level, 1·5 to 3·0 kg food per day (proportionately 0·8 of ad libitum intake) for 75 days. Daily weight gain and food-to-gain ratio improved linearly (P < 0·01) with increasing dietary betaine. Carcass weight increased linearly (P < 0·01) but slaughter loss proportion, backfat and sidefat thicknesses and lean proportions in ham and carcass were unaffected by dietary betaine level. Liver betaine level increased linearly (by up to a proportion of 0·62 in comparison with the control) with dietary betaine addition (F < 0·05) and betaine tended to improve linearly the tensile strength of the proximal ileum (P = 0·07). The presence of choline had no effect on any of these parameters. These results indicate that low to moderate doses of dietary betaine improved the growth and the efficiency of food utilization of growing-finishing pigs. Pigs on betaine diets had heavier carcasses without a relative increase in carcass fat. Choline had no such effects in pigs offered the restricted amount of diet. Liver betaine concentration increased with level of betaine in the diet whereas the betaine precursor choline did not affect hepatic betaine.

Betaine improves growth, but does not induce whole body or hepatic palmitate oxidation in swine (Sus scrofa domestica)

“…These findings were unexpected as earlier studies, including those from our laboratory, have not previously demonstrated growth enhancement in animals fed a variety of experimental diets containing similar levels of betaine (Cadogan et al, 1993;Matthews et al, 1998;Overland et al, 1999;Matthews et al, 2001a,b;Fernandez-Fıgares et al,2 002;Lawrence et al, 2002). A new pig growth trial from Finland has recently been published reporting improved feed conversion ratios and daily gains with lower level of dietary betaine (Siljander-Rasi et al, 2003). In that study, the feed intake was restricted by a similar degree to that in the current report (80-85% of ad libitum).…”

“…The previously noted decrease in voluntary feed intake has been reported in betaine growth trials with females alone or with groups of mixed sexes (Matthews et al, 1998(Matthews et al, , 2001a. The Finnish study used mixed genders (females and castrated males), but they did not report their data by gender (Siljander-Rasi et al, 2003).…”

Potential nutritional and physiological functions of betaine in livestock

“…Choline, a betaine precursor, is also essentially required for a number of physiological functions such as membrane synthesis or formation of acetylcholine. In addition, it can be assumed that choline oxidation may be a rate-limiting step in the synthesis of betaine, since the addition of choline to diets for pigs was not as efficient as the addition of dietary betaine (Siljander-Rasi et al 2003). Choline and methionine are both used as feed additives in livestock nutrition.…”

Effects of dietary guanidinoacetic acid and betaine supplementation on performance, blood biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of broilers subjected to cold stress

“…This process utilizes more SAM than all of the other physiological methyltransferases combined, accounting for about 75% of homocysteine formation (Mudd & Poole 1975). Thus, methyl group of betaine can be used in transmethylation reactions for synthesis of creatine and may reduce the requirement for other methyl group donors such as methionine and choline (Siljander-Rasi et al 2003).…”