• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.1228-1240
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• 2023

Objective: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of dietary crude protein (CP) on growth performance, blood profiles, diarrhea incidence, nutrient digestibility, and odor emission in weaning pigs. Methods: A total of 240 weaning ([Yorkshire×Landrace]×Duroc) pigs (8.25±0.050 kg body weight [BW]) were assigned to six treatments based on sex and initial BW, with five replicates of eight pigs per pen in a randomized complete block design. Experimental diets with different crude protein levels for early and late weaning phases were as follows: i) CP16, corn-soybean-based diet containing 16%/15% CP; ii) CP17, corn-soybean-based diet containing 17%/16% CP; iii) CP18, corn-soybean-based diet containing 18%/17% CP; iv) CP19, corn-soybean-based diet containing 19%/18% CP; v) CP20, corn-soybean-based diet containing 20%/19% CP; and vi) CP21, corn-soybean-based diet containing 21%/20% CP. Results: In the early weaning period, average daily feed intake increased when the dietary CP level decreased (linear, p<0.05). During the entire experimental period, average daily gain and the gain to feed ratio decreased when the dietary CP level increased (linear, p<0.01). Additionally, a decrease in dietary CP level resulted in a linear increase in final BW (linear, p<0.05). In the early and late weaning periods, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) decreased when the dietary CP level decreased (linear, p<0.01). There were no significant differences in creatinine, glucose, total protein, triglyceride or insulin-like factor-1 levels over the experimental period. The concentrations of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG were not significantly affected by dietary CP levels during the experimental period. In the early weaning period, fecal and urine N decreased when the dietary CP level decreased (linear, p<0.01). No differences in nutrient digestibility among the treatments during the early weaning period were found. Throughout the whole experimental period, when the dietary CP level decreased in the weaning pig diet, the diarrhea incidence decreased linearly (linear, p<0.01). Throughout the whole experimental period, when the dietary CP level decreased in the weaning pig diet, ammonia, amines and hydrogen sulfide decreased linearly (linear, p<0.01). Conclusion: Reducing dietary CP could decrease diarrhea incidence, the concentration of BUN in serum and odor emission in manure. Furthermore, it could improve N excretion in feces and urine and growth performance in weaning pigs.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.1263-1273
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• 2023

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of crude protein (CP) levels on the physiological response, reproductive performance, blood profiles, milk composition and odor emission in gestating sows. Methods: Seventy-two multiparous sows (Yorkshire×Landrace) of average body weight (BW), backfat thickness, and parity were assigned to one of six treatments with 10 or 11 sows per treatment in a completely randomized design. Experimental diets with different CP levels were as follows: i) CP11, corn-soybean-based diet containing 11% CP; ii) CP12, corn-soybean-based diet containing 12% CP; iii) CP13, corn-soybean-based diet containing 13% CP; iv) CP14, corn-soybean-based diet containing 14% CP; v) CP15, corn-soybean-based diet containing 15% CP; and vi) CP16: corn-soybean-based diet containing 16% CP. Results: There was no significant difference in the performance of sow or piglet growth when sows were fed different dietary protein levels. Milk fat (linear, p = 0.05) and total solids (linear, p = 0.04) decreased as dietary CP levels increased. Increasing dietary CP levels in the gestation diet caused a significant increase in creatinine at days 35 and 110 of gestation (linear, p = 0.01; linear, p = 0.01). The total protein in sows also increased as dietary CP levels increased during the gestation period and 24 hours postpartum (linear, p = 0.01; linear, p = 0.01). During the whole experimental period, an increase in urea in sows was observed when sows were fed increasing levels of dietary CP (linear, p = 0.01), and increasing blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations were observed as well. In the blood parameters of piglets, there were linear improvements in creatinine (linear, p = 0.01), total protein (linear, p = 0.01), urea (linear, p = 0.01), and BUN (linear, p = 0.01) with increasing levels of dietary CP as measured 24 hours postpartum. At two measurement points (days 35 and 110) of gestation, the odor gas concentration, including amine, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide, increased linearly when sows fed diets with increasing levels of dietary CP (linear, p = 0.01). Moreover, as dietary CP levels increased to 16%, the odor gas concentration was increased with a quadratic response (quadratic, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Reducing dietary CP levels from 16% to 11% in a gestating diet did not exert detrimental effects on sow body condition or piglet performance. Moreover, a low protein diet (11% CP) may improve dietary protein utilization and metabolism to reduce odor gas emissions in manure and urine in gestating sows.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1447-1451
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• 2004

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of different dietary crude protein (CP) levels on growth performance, nutrient utilization, small intestine protease activity and immunity index of weaner to 2 month-old New Zealand rabbits. Eighty weaner rabbits were allocated in individual cages to five treatments in which they were fed diets with CP at 14%, 16%, 18%, 20% and 22%, respectively. The growth performance and nutrient digestibility of rabbits increased firstly when dietary CP increased, then decreased. The average daily gain was the highest and feed conversion rate was the lowest when dietary CP reached 20%, namely 34.9 g/d and 2.74:1, respectively. Maximum CP digestibility was 72.1% in the 18% CP group, maximum crude fiber digestibility of 28.4% occurred in the 16% CP group and was significantly different from other treatments (p<0.01), apparent digestibility of Lys and Val followed the same trend as CP digestibility, and reached their maximum when dietary CP was 18%. Apparent digestibility of Cys, Tyr, Leu and Thr also had a similar trend to CP digestibility. Nitrogen retention (RN) increased with CP level (p>0.05), and was highest for 20% CP treatment (1.5 g/d). The effect of CP level on the rate of digestible nitrogen (DN) converted RN was small. The spleen index, thymus index, chymotrypsin and trypsin activities in small intestine were highest when dietary CP was 16%, which were 1.0, 2.8, 15.7 U/g and 125.7 U/g, respectively. There was no significant difference among treatments (p>0.05). According to the above results, the appropriate dietary CP level from weaner to 2 month-old meat rabbits was 18-20%.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.129-137
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• 2021

Dietary protein requirements of abalone (Haliotis discus) depending on abalone size were determined and compared. One thousand and fifty small abalone (initial weight of 2.7 g) and five hundred forty large one (initial weight of 16.0 g) were distributed into 15 and 18 containers in Trial 1 and 2, respectively. Five and six experimental diets containing crude protein level from 20% to 40% and 20% to 45% with 5% increment of protein level for the small and large abalone were prepared and referred to as the CP20, CP25, CP30, CP35, CP40, and CP45 diets, respectively. The experimental diets were fed to abalone for 16 weeks in Trials 1 and 2. Specific growth rate (SGR) of the small abalone fed the CP20 diet was lower compared to that of abalone fed all other diets in Trial 1. Growth performance (weight gain and SGR) of the large abalone fed the CP30, CP35, and CP40 diets were greater than that of abalone fed the CP20, CP25, and CP45 diets in Trial 2. Dietary protein requirements were estimated to be 33.0% and 33.5% for the small and large abalone based on the 2^nd order polynomial analysis, respectively. Dietary protein requirements for the small abalone grown from 2.7 g to 7.4 g and the large one grown from 16 g to 21 g were estimated to be 33.0% and 33.5%, respectively. Size differences in abalone did not affect dietary protein requirement under this experimental conditions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.83-92
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• 2014

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary CP levels in gestation under equal lysine content on reproductive performance, blood metabolites and milk composition of gilts. A total of 25 gilts ($F_1$, Yorkshire${\times}$Landrace) were allotted to 4 dietary treatments at breeding in a completely randomized design, and fed 1 of 4 experimental diets containing different CP levels (11%, 13%, 15%, or 17%) at 2.0 kg/d throughout the gestation. Body weight of gilts at 24 h postpartum tended to increase linearly (p = 0.09) as dietary CP level increased. In lactation, backfat thickness, ADFI, litter size and weaning to estrus interval (WEI) did not differ among dietary treatments. There were linear increases in litter and piglet weight at 21 d of lactation (p<0.05) and weight gain of litter (p<0.01) and piglet (p<0.05) throughout the lactation as dietary CP level increased. Plasma urea nitrogen levels of gilts in gestation and at 24 h postpartum were linearly elevated as dietary CP level increased (p<0.05). Free fatty acid (FFA) levels in plasma of gestating gilts increased as dietary CP level increased up to 15%, and then decreased with quadratic effects (15 d, p<0.01; 90 d, p<0.05), and a quadratic trend (70 d, p = 0.06). There were no differences in plasma FFA, glucose levels and milk composition in lactation. These results indicate that increasing dietary CP level under equal lysine content in gestation increases BW of gilts and litter performance but does not affect litter size and milk composition. Feeding over 13% CP diet for gestating gilts could be recommended to improve litter growth.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1737-1741
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• 2006

The aim of this study was to provide basic information to allow improved nutritional management for velvet production by investigating the effects of dietary protein levels on dry matter intake and production and chemical composition of velvet antler in spotted deer (Cervus nippon). Twenty-four spotted deer stags were assigned to 4 unreplicated groups, Control (15% CP in diet, higher dry matter), CP10 (10% CP), CP15 (15% CP) and CP20 (20% CP). The velvet antlers were harvested from each stag on the 55th day after casting of the buttons from the previous set, measured for their size and weight, and the chemical composition of each antler was determined in three sections (top, middle, and base). Dry matter (DMI) and crude protein (CPI) intake were highest (p<0.05) for the Control and increased progressively (p<0.05) with increasing dietary protein level. Although not significant, mean length and girth of the main antler beam tended to be larger in either left or right beam with increasing protein level in the diet, longest in CP20 and shortest in CP10. Velvet antler production was lowest in CP10 and highest in CP20, which differed significantly (p<0.05). Only negligible differences were found between groups in chemical composition. It is concluded that dietary protein clearly influenced dry matter intake and velvet antler production, whereas there was comparatively little effect of dietary protein on chemical composition of antler in spotted deer.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.957-967
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• 2016

The present study was conducted to investigate effect of dietary protected amino acid on milk yield and composition in dairy cow using meta-analysis. Total 21 research papers were employed in analysis, and mixed model was used for the analysis of effects. Effect of protected methionine (PM) and combination of protected methionine and lysine (PML) were investigated under two different levels of dietary crude protein (CP, <18% and >18%). For performance of dairy cow, milk yield, milk composition including milk fat and protein content and yield and 4% FCM (fat corrected milk) production were used for analysis. In case of milk yield, a trend of increment was found at PM supplementation at low CP (P=0.055). However, the effect of PM at high CP was detected as not significant (P>0.05). In case of milk protein, inclusion of PM at low CP showed significant decrement (P<0.05). However, there was no significant effect of MP on milk protein at high CP (P>0.05). Supplementation of MP at high CP level showed significant increment of milk fat (P<0.05). MP supplementation represented significant increment of 4% FCM production (P<0.05) regardless of dietary CP levels. Effects of PML on milk yield and composition at both of low and high dietary CP were not significant in this study. However, it seem to be that there was a possible positive effect of MPL application at high dietary CP on performance of dairy cow.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.237-248
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• 1992

The effect of 16 different dietary rations, computed by the combinations of 13, 16, 19 or 22% CP and 2600, 2800, 3000 or 3100 kcal ME/kg, on growth performances and carcass yield of Starcross layers were assessed in two similar experiments. In both experiments, the body weight, eviscerated carcass yield, edible carcass yield, length of digestive tract and shank length increased but the feed intake decreased linearly with the increase of dietary CP and ME levels. The liver and gizzard weights as percentages of live weight tended to be increased with the increase of dietary CP and ME levels. The carcass dry matter, crude protein, fat, ash and energy content were not influenced by the dietary CP and ME levels. Dietary CP levels had positive correlations with all the parameters (except feed and energy intake and carcass dry matter). However, the dietary ME levels were positively correlated with all the parameters (except feed and energy intake; carcass dry matter and ash) in both experiments. The higher values were noted for all the parameters (except gizzard and carcass fat percentages) studied in Experiment 1 compared to those observed in Experiment 2.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1362-1370
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• 2015

This study was performed to investigate the effect of different levels of dietary crude protein (CP) on composition of odorous compounds and bacterial communities in pig manure. A total of 48 male pigs (average initial body weight 45 kg) fed diets containing three levels of dietary CP (20%, 17.5%, and 15%) and their slurry samples were collected from the pits under the floor every week for one month. Changes in composition of odorous compounds and bacterial communities were analyzed by gas chromatography and 454 FLX titanium pyrosequencing systems, respectively. Levels of phenols, indoles, short chain fatty acid and branched chain fatty acid were lowest (p<0.05) in CP 15% group among three CP levels. Relative abundance of Bacteroidetes phylum and bacterial genera including Leuconostoc, Bacillus, Atopostipes, Peptonphilus, Ruminococcaceae_uc, Bacteroides, and Pseudomonas was lower (p<0.05) in CP 15% than in CP 20% group. There was a positive correlation (p<0.05) between odorous compounds and bacterial genera: phenol, indole, iso-butyric acid, and iso-valeric acid with Atopostipes, p-cresol and skatole with Bacteroides, acetic acid and butyric acid with AM982595_g of Porphyromonadaceae family, and propionic acid with Tissierella. Taken together, administration of 15% CP showed less production of odorous compounds than 20% CP group and this result might be associated with the changes in bacterial communities especially whose roles in protein metabolism.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.583-589
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• 1994

In order to study the interrelationships of calcium (0.45 vs. 0.90%), phosphorus (0.40 vs. 0.70%) and protein (17, 20, 23%), $2{\times}2{\times}3$ factorial design was employed. A total of 480 broilers (Hisex-Hibro) aged 3 days were fed the experimental diets for a period of 28 days. Body weight gain, daily feed intake and feed efficiency were investigated for the simple effects, first order interaction and second order interaction of the dietary factors. These effects were also applied to bone ash retention, percent Ca in bone & ash, percent P in bone & ash, and protein utilizability. Results were as follows. 1) For body weight gain, simple effects of dietary levels of Ca, P, CP were found to be significant (p<0.05). Body weight gain at 0.90% Ca level was improved as the dietary CP levels increased. For the feed intake, single effects of dietary levels of both P and CP were found (p<0.05). Feed efficiency was improved as the dietary CP and P levels increased. Ca $\times$ P interaction was found to be significant for body weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency (p<0.05), however, Ca $\times$ P $\times$ CP interaction effect was not found. 2) Protein utilizability decreased as the dietary CP level increased (p<0.01). 3) 0.90% Ca in diet showed less bone ash retention than 0.45% Ca level. And, increasing the dietary P level resulted in increased bone ash retention. Increasing the dietary P level resulted in increased bone Ca retention (p<0.01) and increased bone P retention (p<0.05). Dietary CP levels had significant (p<0.01) effect on bone Ca retention except for 23% CP level. Increasing the dietary Ca level resulted in wider Ca:P ratio of bone, but increasing the dietary P level resulted in narrower Ca:P ratio of bone. 4. Ca $\times$ P interaction effects were found to be significant (p<0.01) for bone ash, bone Ca & P, ash P content, and bone Ca:P ratio. Ca $\times$ P $\times$ CP interaction effects were found for bone ash (p<0.01), bone Ca (p<0.05) and bone P content (p<0.01).