Effects of field bean (Vicia faba L. var. minor) dietary supplementation on plasma thyroid hormones, insulin, insulin‐like growth factor‐1 concentrations and mohair characteristics in growing Angora goat kids

Abstract

Twenty-two Angora kids were used to study the effect of a dietary supplementation with field bean (Vicia faba L. var. minor) on hair follicle activity, mohair characteristics and plasma total thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), insulin (INS) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentrations. At birth, their mothers were divided in two groups (S: supplemented, C: control), the S group being supplemented with 300 g/head/day of whole field bean. At weaning, diet of kids from S group was supplemented with 80 g/head/day of whole field bean. At weaning, secondary hair follicle activity (S: 0.91 ± 0.01, C: 0.84 ± 0.02, p < 0.01) and staple length (S: 5.82 ± 0.13 cm, C: 5.16 ± 0.14 cm, p < 0.001) were greater in the S group. At 155 days of age, secondary fibre diameter (S: 16.54 ± 0.35 μm, C: 18.09 ± 0.31 μm, p < 0.01) was higher in the C kids. Concentrations of total plasma T4 and T3 were higher (p < 0.001) in S (120 ± 12 and 4.87 ± 0.92 ng/ml respectively) than in C kids (92 ± 8 and 2.97 ± 0.77 ng/ml respectively). At weaning, T4 values were negatively correlated (p < 0.05) with the secondary fibre diameter and the T3/T4 ratio was positively correlated (p < 0.05) with the secondary to primary hair follicle ratio. At 155 days of age, both T3 and T3/T4 values were positively correlated (p < 0.01) with staple length. Plasma INS (0.11 ± 0.03 ng/ml) and total IGF-1 concentrations (232 ± 13 ng/ml) were not affected by diet. Improvements of diet quality in kids positively affected fibre diameter and length and follicle activity rate. We suggest that increased circulating thyroid hormones concentrations, but not those of INS and IGF-1, may contribute to the beneficial actions of nutritional supplementation on anatomical growth and mohair production of kids.

Relationship between insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentrations and body trait measurements and climatic factors in prepubertal goat kids

“…As a matter of fact, it has been reported that there is a negative correlation between IGF-1 concentrations and body mass in 36 mammalian species, and that high IGF-1 levels allow for cancer growth and thus shorten the animal's life span (Stuart and Page, 2010). However, this result contrasts with the reported negative correlations (r = −0.56) between IGF-1 concentrations and live weight in Angora goat kids (Acuti et al, 2009). In summary, the findings obtained from this study are generally compatible with studies on other mammalian species.…”

Growth, blood metabolites and hormones in calves fed diets with different amounts of energy and protein during the pre- or post-weaning periods

“…Nutritional changes affect plasma concentrations of insulin, growth hormone (GH), 3, 5, 3' triiodotironine (T 3 ), thyroxine (T 4 ) and metabolites such as glucose, ammonia nitrogen (N-NH 3 ) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) (Gerrits et al, 1998;Todini et al, 2007a, b;Acuti et al, 2009). Changes in nutrition are closely associated to growth.…”

Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 and leptin concentrations in Black Bengal goats at different ages and gestation periods and their relationship to kid growth performance

“…[ 10 ] in Honamlı and native hair goats in Turkey, in which it increased with age, and the concentration at 4 months was lower than those measured at 8 and 12 months. However, in growing Angola goat kids, circulating IGF-1 decreased from 12 to 22 weeks of age [ 11 ]. Two studies in goats showed that plasma IGF-1 levels in kids after birth were elevated until approximately 4 months of age and declined without significance thereafter [ 5 , 12 ].…”