Feed grade methionine
Feed grade Methionine is an essential amino acid which acts as the substrate for other amino acids such as cysteine and taurine, versatile compounds, and antioxidant glutathione.
Supplementing diets with methionine
Rising feed ingredient costs make it appealing to purchase lower quality feedstuffs, but the long-term price for that could be excessive. Supplementing methionine offer a safety net for productivity and added cost savings.
Methionine exists as the D-methionine and L-methionine forms. While there is no difference in the chemical make-up of the two isomers, the configurations of the molecules differ. Commercial methionine and methionine hydroxy analogue produced by chemical synthesis produces both D- and L-methionine in an equal parts mixture. Commercial methionine produced by fermentation results in only the L-isomer.
Why methionine matters
Even with supplementation, it’s critical to ensure a balance. If one amino acid is lacking then the animal cannot synthesize additional protein. This leads to inefficient use of the feed’s nutrients, slower growth, reduced lean-muscle production and ultimately, economic loss. Lysine typically comes to mind as the first limiting amino acid in swine diets, but that is dependent on the age of pigs and type of diet. While lysine may be the first limiting amino acid for older pigs, methionine often moves into that spot for younger pigs depending on the ingredient composition of the diet. Numerous studies have shown this is particularly true in weaned-pig diets that contain high levels of spray-dried blood products or dried whey
Swine
- In sows, gestation and lactation place significant demands on energy levels for such things as fetal development, milk production and retaining body condition. Today’s larger, leaner, and highly productive sows require higher levels of energy and amino acids for maintenance and reproductive performance. If the diet falls short, the sow will draw from its own reserves and that can cause reproductive challenges, including delayed oestrus, poor conception, low embryo survival, declines in milk production, lower weight and reduced piglet survival rates.
- Adding methionine to sow diets can help even if it’s not the first limiting amino acid as it offers synergetic effects with lysine and threonine.
Benefits of methionine
Methionine in livestock feed is important because of its many functions such as:
- Enhancing protein synthesis.
- Reducing cost by increasing feed efficiency.
- Alleviating the negative effects of stress.
- Acting as a precursor in metabolic pathways.
- The growing period is characterized by significant dietary demands requiring high energy and feed intake, thorough nutrient digestion and absorption, and efficient feed conversion.
- The unique chemical structure of methionine, as well as its organic acid benefits of improved gut health and nutrient digestibility, helps produce measurable results in poultry.
- Methionine supplementation of livestock diet improves splanchnic metabolism, gastrointestinal tract development as well as the growth performance of young broiler chicks.
- The functional role of methionine in the gastrointestinal tract, especially it’s antioxidative effects, enables it to improve the health of the gastrointestinal tract of rapidly growing animals.
- Therefore, methionine confers a positive growth impact.
Dosage and administration of feed grade DL-methionine
- Animal species: All livestock
- Route of administration: Inclusion in feed
- Dosage: as recommended, from day old throughout life
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