IMPORTANCE OF GLUTAMINE AND METHIONINE IN GROWTH PERFORMANCE, VILLUS CHARACTERISTICS, AND PRESENCE OF INTESTINAL POLYAMINES IN WEANED PIGLETS

Glutamine (Gln) and methionine (Met) are involved in the synthesis of polyamines, which are essential for the functioning of intestinal epithelial cells of weaned piglets (Sus scrofa domestica L.). Two experiments were conducted with 21-day-weaned piglets. In the first, the dietary inclusion of Gln (0 and 1.5 %) and Met (0.05 and 1.05 %) was evaluated during the first post-weaning week. Villus height (VH), Lieberkühn’s crypt depth (LCD), putrescine, spermidine, and spermine concentration, and total polyamines in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were measured. The average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed efficiency (FE) were calculated. A randomized complete block design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement was used. In the second experiment, the addition of glutamine at four levels (0, 0.7, 1.4, and 2.1 %) in the diet was evaluated for three post-weaning weeks. ADG, ADFI, and FE were measured, and a randomized complete block design was used. In the first experiment, glutamine and methionine levels showed no effect on VH and LCD (p > 0.05). The concentration of spermidine and total polyamines in the jejunum improved (p ≤ 0.05) with glutamine. Regarding growth performance, the level of 1.5 % glutamine in the diet improved the values of ADG and FE (p ≤ 0.05), without affecting ADFI (p > 0.05). In the second experiment, glutamine levels increased ADG and FE (p ≤ 0.01) during the first week, without modifying ADFI (p > 0.05); growth performance in the second and third weeks was similar (p > 0.05).