Efficiency of Protein Utilization by Growing
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EFFICIENCY OF PROTEIN UTILIZATION BY GROWING CHINCHILLA FED TWO LEVELS OF PROTEIN by JOHN CHARLES ROGIER B.Sc, University of British Columbia, 1965 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in the Department of Animal Science We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October, 1971 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of /A /Vwwi J k The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date iii ABSTRACT Six male and six female chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) in the late phase of growth were used to study the effects of sex, crude protein level in the ration and duration of experiment on body weight gains, digestibility of energy, dry matter, organic matter and protein and efficiency of protein utilization, as measured by biological value and net protein utilization. Two isocaloric rations of differing crude protein content (16.25% and 19.56%) were supplied ad libitum for three one-week experi• mental periods. The results showed that female chinchilla had significantly (P<0.05) greater body weight gains than males after adjustment for initial body weight and feed intake. There was a significant (P<0.05) effect of ration on the digestibility coefficients studied. The mean apparent digestibility coefficients for energy, dry matter, organic matter and protein for ration 1 (16.25% crude protein) were 65.09, 66.44, 67.73 and 62.83%, respectively; while for ration 2 (19.56% crude protein) the values were 67.32, 68.52, 70.21 and 73.23%, respectively. On the other hand, sex had no significant (P<0.05) effect on digestibility. There was a significant (P<0.05) effect of ration on the protein utilization indices studied. Biological value was not significantly (P<0.05) different for the two rations. The mean values for biological iv value and net protein utilization for ration 1 (16.25% crude protein) were 66.38 and 42.02%, respectively; while for ration 2 (19.56% crude protein) the values were 66.96 and 48.17%, respectively. On the other hand, sex had no significant (P<0.05) effect on protein utilization. The sensitivity of growing chinchilla to protein quality suggests a major role for prececal digestion and absorption although this does not preclude the synthesis and subsequent breakdown of microbial protein in the postcecal part of the gut. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE i ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 2 A. The Animal: Chinchilla lanigera 2 1. General 2 2. Nutritional Physiology 2 B. Protein Utilization in the Whole Animal 4 1. Physiological State and Protein Reserves ... 5 2. Caloric Intake 5 a. The Effects of Constant Protein Levels with Varying Energy Intake . 6 b. The Effects of Constant Energy Levels with Varying Protein Intake 6 c. The Effects of Carbohydrate and Fat on Protein Utilization 7 3. Essential Amino Acid and Total Nitrogen Intake 7 4. Amino Acid Imbalance 8 C. Methodology of Evaluation of Protein Utilization . 9 1. Weight Gain Method 9 2. Nitrogen Balance 10 vi Page III. EXPERIMENTAL 11 A. Object of Research ......... 11 B. Experimental Approach 11 C. Experimental Design 12 D. Materials 12 1. Animals 12 2. Housing 14 3. Rations 14 E. Methods 16 1. Data Collections 16 2. Chemical Analysis 17 3. Statistical Analysis 17 F. Calculations 19 1. Apparent Digestibility .... 19 2. Biological Value 20 3. Net Protein Utilization 21 G. Results and Discussion 21 1. Formulation and Chemical Composition of Rations 21 2. Body Weight Gains 21 3. Digestibility Coefficients 25 4. Biological Value, Net Protein Utilization . 27 IV. CONCLUSIONS 32 V. BIBLIOGRAPHY . 33 VI. APPENDIX 39 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Design of Experiment 13 2 Formulation of Experimental Rations 22 3 Chemical Composition of Experimental Rations 23 4 Least Squares Means of Weekly Body Weight Gains Adjusted for Initial Body Weight and Type of Nutrient Intake 24 5 Least Squares Means of Digestibility Coefficients Adjusted for Nutrient Intake and Initial Body Weight 26 6 Least Squares Means of Protein Utilization Indices Adjusted for Protein Intake and Initial Body Weight 28 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Photograph of a Digestibility Cage 15 ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During this study I became indebted to a number of people. Dr. R. M. Beames, Department of Animal Science, directed the project. Dr. W. D. Kitts, Department of Animal Science, provided financial support and allowed the use of the necessary facilities. Dr. R. C. Fitzsimmons, Department of Poultry Science, Dr. L. E. Lowe, Department of Soil Science, Drs. W. D. Kitts and C. R. Krishnamurti, Department of Animal Science, offered many help• ful suggestions during the preparation of the manuscript. Dr. R. G. Peterson and Mr. C. J. Williams of the Department of Animal Science assisted with the statistical analysis of the data. EFFICIENCY OF PROTEIN UTILIZATION BY GROWING CHINCHILLA FED TWO LEVELS OF PROTEIN I. INTRODUCTION Information on the biology of the chinchilla is scarce. To date, chinchilla research has been focussed on studies of metabolic rate (13), reproductive physiology (22) and the biochemistry of digestion (52). A few nutritional investigations have been reported (28, 31, 32). Nutritional requirements for maintenance, growth and repro• duction are unknown. At the present time it is standard commercial practice to feed the same diet to all animals regardless of their stage in production. In particular, information on protein nutrition is lacking (32). The purpose of this study is to measure the efficiency of protein utilization and to establish the protein requirements of chinchilla in the late phase of growth. II. LITERATURE REVIEW A. The Animal: Chinchilla lanigera 1. General Chinchilla were introduced into North America about fifty years ago. Since then, there has been a rapid increase in their numbers due to their importance as a luxury fur animal. At present there are approximately 16,000 animals in British Columbia (17). Bickel (3) measured the growth curve of Chinchilla lanigera. The average weight of adult males on a ranch diet is about 475 g, with females weighing approximately 50 g more (3, 28). Most animals reach mature weights at approximately nine to eleven months of age (53). 2. Nutritional Physiology The chinchilla is a nonruminant herbivore with a large cecum. The role of the cecum as a possible site of fermentation, digestion and absorption in the chinchilla and other nonruminant herbivores, such as the rabbit and the horse, was, until recently, poorly defined. Smith (52) found that in chinchilla the main sites of cellulose break• down were the cecum and the large intestine. Although low levels of volatile fatty acids were found in the stomach and small intestine, these have been attributed to coprophagy (52). It is generally assumed 3 that in the rabbit, feces-eating in conjunction with fermentation in the large intestine probably provides insurance against essential amino acid deficiency and may permit further digestion of fiber and other nutrients by a second passage through the digestive tract (54). To date, the importance of the cecum in the protein nutrition of the nonruminant herbivore has been studied only in the horse (24, 44). Although some results suggest that the major site of protein digestion is prececal they also demonstrate that there is a significant amount of nitrogen absorbed from the lower gut. If the major site of protein digestion is the small intestine, the protein quality of the diet would be an important consideration for the growth of young foals. On the other hand, if the major site of protein digestion is the cecum the quality of the dietary protein would be of less importance. The fact that mature rabbits (26), horses (24) and chinchilla (17, 25) have been maintained on low quality forages would indicate that the quality of dietary protein is not of great importance for maintenance. Growing animals, however, are found to be more responsive to protein quality than adults because the amino acid requirements for growth are much greater than those for maintenance (43). For example, Hintz et al. (23) found that young horses fed diets containing milk products, a good source of amino acids, grew much faster than animals fed diets containing poorer quality proteins. On the other hand, it is possible that the maintenance requirements of amino acids in the nonruminant herbivore can be met by bacterial synthesis followed by enzymatic degradation and absorption of amino acids in the lower gut (24,54). 4 Commercial chinchilla diets normally consist of pellets supple• mented with hay or alfalfa (25). The ingredients of the pellets are usually cereal grains, alfalfa and a source of good quality protein (25). Brickel (3) recommended the use of hay as a source of roughage in addition to pellets. This combination was reported to reduce the incidence of digestive upsets observed when only pelleted rations were fed. On the other hand, Farmer (14) reported that animals per• formed satisfactorily when fed pellets only. B. Protein Utilization in the Whole Animal Since there are no reports on work specifically designed to evaluate the utilization of protein by chinchilla, this topic will be discussed in terms of work done with other animals.