Use the effects of betaine in pig and poultry feed
Betaine is often mistaken for a vitamin. It is neither a vitamin nor even a nutrient for the body. However, under certain conditions, the addition of betaine to the feed formulation can bring considerable benefits.
Betaine is a natural compound that contains betaine in most organisms. Wheat and sugar beets are two common plants that contain high concentrations of betaine. Pure betaine is considered safe when used within the permissible limits. Since betaine has certain functional properties and can be an essential nutrient (or additive) under certain conditions, the addition of pure betaine to pig and poultry diets is increasing. However, in order to get the best results, it is important to know how much betaine is added.
Pure betaine is generally extracted from beet syrup. Although the betaine content in sugar beet is much less than that of wheat (about 80% lower), it is easier to extract betaine from sugar beet syrup, the steps including chromatography, separation and crystallization. Betaine can also be extracted from a by-product of ethanol production from distiller's grains-beet, but is rarely used in actual production. Commercial forms of betaine include anhydrous betaine, betaine monohydrate, betaine hydrochloride (25% hydrochloride), and betaine phosphate. Assuming that the pure betaine concentration converted to an anhydrous product, none of the above forms shows a significant benefit over other forms.
1 Betaine
There are many types of betaine, all of which have zwitterionic properties, that is, different atoms have positive and negative charges, but the compounds are generally neutral. The first such compound was discovered in sugar beets in the 19th century (hence the name betaine) and its correct chemical name is trimethylglycine, also known as glycine betaine. In animal nutrition, other betaine has not been systematically studied. Therefore, this article discusses betaine extracted from sugar beets.
Since betaine is a methyl derivative of glycine, it contains three chemically active methyl groups (CH3). This property gives betaine one of its two major biological functions, namely as a methyl donor. The second role of betaine is as a natural organic osmotic regulator, involved in regulating water penetration and maintaining the water balance of the biofilm.
2 Betaine in the
In most cases, animals are able to synthesize betaine to meet the needs of their body. The way in which betaine is synthesized is the well-known oxidation of vitamin choline. It has been shown that the addition of pure betaine to feed can save expensive choline. As a methyl donor, betaine can also replace expensive methionine. Therefore, the addition of betaine to the feed reduces the need for methionine and choline. Of course, the premise is that the cost of using betaine under commercial conditions can produce a saving effect, which makes it practical.
Betaine can also be used as an anti-fatty liver agent. In some studies, only 0.125% betaine was added to the feed, and the growth of pig fat in the growing pigs was reduced by 15%. Finally, betaine has been shown to increase the digestibility of nutrients because it provides osmotic protection for intestinal bacteria and makes the gastrointestinal environment more stable. Of course, the most important role of betaine is to prevent cell dehydration, but this is often taken for granted and is therefore ignored.
3 betaine to prevent dehydration
Excessive dietary betaine in the absence of water, instead of utilizing the function of its methyl donor, uses betaine to regulate cell hydration. In the state of heat stress, the reaction of the cells is to collect inorganic ions such as organic penetrants such as sodium, potassium, chlorine and betaine. In this case, betaine is the most effective compound because it does not have a negative effect on the loss of stability of the protein. As an osmotic adjustment substance, betaine protects the kidney from high concentrations of electrolytes and urea, improves macrophage function, regulates water balance in the intestine, prevents premature cell death, and Embryo survival has a certain impact.
From a practical point of view, it has been reported that the addition of betaine to the feed can prevent intestinal villus atrophy and increase the activity of proteolytic enzymes, thereby promoting the intestinal health of weaned piglets. Similar functions include the addition of betaine to poultry feed in poultry, which has signs of improving intestinal health.
4 Practical considerations
Based on experimental and empirical evidence, it can be said that the addition of pure betaine to broiler, turkey and duck diets can slightly increase the digestibility of nutrients, promote growth and increase feed conversion. In addition, the addition of betaine to poultry feed may result in a decrease in carcass fat and an increase in breast meat. Of course, the exact effect of the above functions is highly variable. In addition, under actual conditions, the relative bioavailability of betaine compared to methionine is 60%. In other words, 1 kg of anhydrous betaine can replace the addition of 0.6 kg of methionine. For choline, it is estimated that betaine can be substituted for about 50% of choline in broiler feed, and choline can be replaced 100% in laying hen feed.
However, based on the fact that choline has other biological functions, it is more conservative to use no more than 25% replacement of choline with pure betaine. A comprehensive analysis of the effects of dietary betaine addition on pig performance and carcass characteristics (including 19 studies) showed that betaine did not significantly affect pig growth, but did significantly increase feed conversion (2% to 8). %) and carcass yield, while reducing the deposition of backfat fat (10% to 20%). In the aspect of pig breeding, the substitution of betaine for methionine and choline has not been well documented, so the actual use value is not considered for the time being.
There is no doubt that animals that are dehydrated can benefit most from betaine, which can be of great help. This includes: heat-stressed animals, especially broilers in the summer; lactating sows, which are almost always unable to meet the consumption of water; all animals that drink salt water. For all animal species that have been determined to benefit from betaine, it is best not to add more than 1 kg of betaine per ton of full-price feed. If the recommended amount is exceeded, the efficiency will decrease as the dose increases. However, in certain cases, the betaine addition per metric ton of feed can be increased to 2 kg in a short period of time. However, this is under conditions of extreme heat stress, or young animals that are not yet able to consume sufficient feed and water, or when methionine and choline are extremely expensive.
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