The effects of supplementing a low-protein threonine-deficient diet with different sources of non-essential amino acids on nitrogen retention and gut structure in young pigs.

A threonine-adequate control diet and four Thr-deficient (80% of requirement) diets were formulated to contain similar amounts of digestible lysine and the recommended pattern of other standardised ileal digestible essential amino acids (except Thr). Threonine-deficient diets were supplemented with different amounts and sources of non-essential amino acids, namely 0, 20, and 40 g wheat gluten (WG) protein per kg diet or 17.6 g monosodium glutamate (MSG) per kg diet. Each diet was fed for 28 days to six piglets (initial BW 15 kg). Supplementation of the Thr-deficient diet with WG or MSG had a positive effect on N retention (5.9-8.5%) in younger, but not in older, pigs. Furthermore, it reduced the plasma Thr level and increased threonine dehydrogenase activity in the liver and pancreas. The treatment effects on intestinal morphology differed according to the histological criteria used. It may be concluded that non-essential amino acids added to the low-protein diet deficient in Thr seem to improve utilisation of these amino acids for protein deposition in very young pigs, whereas their effects on the structure of the small intestine are equivocal.