Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Apr 13;14(1):48.
doi: 10.1186/s40104-023-00854-z.

The significance of N-carbamoylglutamate in ruminant production

Susan A McCoard  1 , David Pacheco  2
Affiliations
Review

The significance of N-carbamoylglutamate in ruminant production

Susan A McCoard et al. J Anim Sci Biotechnol. .

Abstract

Improving the efficiency and production of grazing ruminants to support food and fiber production, while reducing the environmental footprint and meeting the welfare needs of the animals, is important for sustainable livestock production systems. Development of new technologies that can improve the efficiency of nitrogen (N) utilization in ruminants, and that are effective and safe, has important implications for ruminant livestock production. N-carbomoylglutamate (NCG) is a functional micronutrient that stimulates endogenous synthesis of arginine, which can improve survival, growth, lactation, reproductive performance, and feed efficiency in mammals. There is a growing body of evidence to support the potential of dietary NCG supplementation to improve the productive capacity and N utilization efficiency of ruminants. This review summarizes the current literature on the effects of dietary supplementation with NCG in ruminants and impacts on production and potential to reduce the environmental footprint of farmed ruminant livestock. The current literature highlights the potential for commercial application in ruminant livestock to improve productivity and N utilization efficiency.

Keywords: Dairy; Environment; Fetal growth and development; Lactation; N-carbamoylglutamate; Nitrogen; Red meat; Reproduction.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Not applicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A schematic to illustrate the influence of N-carbomylglutamate (NCG) on carbamoyl-phosphate synthase, the rate limiting enzyme of the urea cycle pathway, and downstream effects on the urea cycle pathway in ruminants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
An overview of the current knowledge of the impacts of N-carbamoylglutamate on the mitigation of nitrogen (N) pollution, milk and red meat production and reproduction in ruminants
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. FAO. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2019. http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/themes/en/meat/home.html. Retrieved 1 Feb 20 - PubMed
    1. Ritchie H, Rosado P, Roser M. Meat and dairy production. 2019. https://ourworldindata.org/meat-production. Accessed 5 Dec 2022.
    1. McCoard SA, Stevens DR, Whitney TR. Sustainable sheep and goat production through strategic nutritional management and advanced technologies. Chapter 13. In: Bazer FW, Lamb GC and Wu G editors. Animal Agriculture – Sustainability, Challenges and Innovations. Academic Press. 2020. 10.1016/B978-0-12-817052-6.00013-6
    1. Greenwood PL. Review: An overview of beef production from pasture and feedlot globally, as demand for beef and the need for sustainable practices increase. Animal. 2021;15:100295. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2021.100295. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rojas-Downing MM, Nejadhashemi AP, Harrigan T, Woznicki SA. Climate change and livestock: Impacts, adaption and mitigation. Clim Risk Manag. 2017;16:145–163. doi: 10.1016/j.crm.2017.02.001. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources