title: Effects of Dietary L-carnosine and Alpha-lipoic Acid on Growth Performance, Blood Thyroid Hormones and Lipid Profiles in Finishing Pigs.
abstract: The present study was conducted to determine the effects of L-carnosine (LC) and/or alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation on growth performance, blood thyroid hormones and lipid profiles in finishing pigs. A total of 40 (Landrace×Yorkshire) pigs with an initial body weight of 57.93±3.14 kg were randomly allocated to 4 experimental diets using a 2×2 factorial arrangement with 2 LC supplemental levels (0 or 0.1%) and 2 ALA supplemental levels (0 or 0.03%) in basal diets. The results showed that pigs fed LC-supplemented diets increased final live weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake compared to those of pigs fed without LC-supplemented diets (p<0.05). Dietary supplementation with ALA did not affect the growth performance and carcass traits of pigs (p>0.05). Additionally, LC supplementation increased serum triiodothyronine, thyroxine levels, and ALA supplementation increased serum triiodothyronine levels (p<0.05). Serum total cholesterol and triglycerides levels were significantly decreased in LC and ALA supplemented groups, respectively (p<0.05). Moreover, serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were lower in the ALA-supplemented groups than those of pigs fed without ALA-supplemented diets (p<0.05). However, no significant LC×ALA interaction effect on growth performance, blood thyroid hormones and lipid profiles was found. This study suggested that dietary supplementation of LC resulted in better growth performance compared to that of ALA supplementation. L-carnosine and/or ALA supplementation positively modified blood lipid profiles, which may have the potential to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Yinghui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China ; College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China .
authors.forename: Chunqi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Wenbo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Lihong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Jianyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Qiugang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
keywords: Alpha-lipoic Acid; Finishing Pigs; L-carnosine; Lipid Profiles; Thyroid Hormones