Dietary phenylalanine modulates thyroxine and growth performance in weaned piglets

초록

This experiment evaluates the effect of (L)-phenylalanine (Phe) on growth performance, thyroxine (T-4), dopamine, fecal score, and the correlations among these variables in weaning piglets. A total of 120 piglets (21 +/- 1 day old; 6.16 +/- 0.23 kg) were randomly allotted to three dietary treatments for 28 days, divided into two phases (Phase 1, days 0-14; Phase 2, days 15-28). Each treatment included eight replicates of five piglets. The dietary treatments comprised corn-soybean meal basal diets (CN); CN + 0.15% Phe (CP15); CN + 0.3% Phe (CP30). Overall, Phe supplementation had no effect on BW, average daily feed intake, fecal score, dopamine, or gain-to-feed ratio. D Phase 1; however, Phe tended to increase (p = 0.066) average daily gain (ADG) and serum T-4 concentration compared with CN. The coefficient of variation remained unchanged during Phase 1 but tended to be higher (p = 0.099) in CP15 and CP30 during Phase 2. Serum T-4 was positively correlated (p < 0.05) with BW, ADG, and gain-to-feed ratio. These findings suggest that dietary Phe may improve early post-weaning growth by enhancing T-4 levels and supporting metabolic processes in weaned piglets.

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