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. 2022 Jun 7;8(1):24.
doi: 10.1186/s40813-022-00269-8.

Guanidine acetic acid supplementation altered plasma and tissue free amino acid profiles in finishing pigs

Yiyan Cui  1 , Zhimei Tian  1 , Miao Yu  1 , Dun Deng  1 , Huijie Lu  1 , Min Song  1 , Xianyong Ma  2   3 , Limin Wang  4
Affiliations

Guanidine acetic acid supplementation altered plasma and tissue free amino acid profiles in finishing pigs

Yiyan Cui et al. Porcine Health Manag. .

Abstract

Background: As a nutritive feed additive, guanidine acetic acid (GAA) participates in the metabolism of energy and proteins. This study aimed to investigate the effects of GAA on growth performance, organ index, plasma and tissue free amino acid profiles, and related metabolites in finishing pigs. A total of 72 crossbred pigs (body weight 86.59 ± 1.16 kg) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (GAA0, GAA500, GAA1000, and GAA1500). They were fed the basal diets supplemented with 0, 500, 1000, or 1500 mg/kg GAA for 42 days, respectively. The growth performance and organ weight were evaluated, and the contents of crude protein, free amino acids, and metabolites in plasma and tissues were determined. Spearman correlation between plasma and tissue free amino acids and related metabolites was also analyzed.

Results: Growth performance in pigs was not altered by GAA (P > 0.05). The absolute and relative weight of kidneys increased (quadratic, P < 0.05). As dietary GAA concentration was increased, the contents of plasma glycine, serine, leucine, ornithine, and ratio of ornithine/arginine decreased (linear or quadratic, P < 0.05), but the contents of plasma isoleucine and taurine and the ratios of alanine/branched-chain amino acids and proline/ornithine increased quadratically (P < 0.05). The hepatic γ-amino-n-butyric acid content increased linearly and quadratically (P < 0.001), while the carnosine content decreased (quadratic, P = 0.004). The contents of renal arginine, proline, cystine, glutamate, and total amino acids (TAA) decreased quadratically (P < 0.05), but the contents of glycine (quadratic, P = 0.015) and γ-amino-n-butyric acid (linear, P = 0.008) increased. The pancreatic tryptophan content (quadratic, P = 0.024) increased, while the contents of pancreatic proline (linear, P = 0.005) and hydroxyproline (quadratic, P = 0.032) decreased in response to GAA supplementation. The contents of cardiac essential amino acids (EAA), nonessential amino acids (NEAA), and TAA in GAA1000 were higher than those in GAA1500 (P < 0.05). Supplementing with GAA linearly increased the contents of methionine, threonine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, lysine, histidine, arginine, serine, alanine, glutamine, asparagine, tyrosine, proline, taurine, cystathionine, α-aminoadipic acid, β-aminoisobutyric acid, EAA, NEAA, and TAA in the spleen (P < 0.05). A strong Spearman correlation existed between plasma and tissue free amino acids and related metabolites.

Conclusion: GAA supplementation did not altered pig growth performance, but it altered plasma and tissue free amino acid profiles and the contents of related metabolites in pigs in a tissue-dependent manner.

Keywords: Free amino acids; Guanidine acetic acid; Pigs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Fig.1
Fig.1
Spearman correlation analysis between plasma and tissue: A liver, B kidney, C pancreas, D heart, E spleen. Right colored bar indicates scale range of Spearman correlation coefficients depicted. Red denotes positive, whereas blue indicates negative. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01. GluNH2 = glutamine; AspNH2 = asparagine; β-Ala = β-alanine; Hypro = hydroxyproline; Cysthi = cystathionine; a-AAA = a-aminoadipic acid; NH3 = ammonia
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