Octanoate and nonaoate oxidation increases 50-80% over the first two days of life in piglet triceps brachii and gracilis muscle strips.

An in vitro muscle strip incubation system was developed to measure the rate of catabolism of 1 mmol/L [1-(14)C]octanoate, 1 mmol/L [1-(14)C]nonanoate, 1 mmol/L [9-(14)C]nonanoate, and 10 mmol/L [U-(14)C]glucose by measuring the recovery of (14)CO(2). Muscle strips (13 mm × 1.5 mm, ~50 mg) were isolated from triceps brachii and gracilis muscles of newborn and 2-d-old, small (<950 g) and large (>1450 g) piglets.

Blood D-(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate concentrations after oral administration of trioctanoin, trinonanoin, or tridecanoin to newborn rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Premature newborn infants are born with limited stores of glycogen and fat. Energy, such as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which can spare the use of body protein as metabolic energy, may be beneficial. This study compares MCT containing C8, C9, or C10 fatty acids as oral sources of energy for newborn rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Role of S-adenosylmethionine, folate, and betaine in the treatment of alcoholic liver disease: summary of a symposium.

This report is a summary of a symposium on the role of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), betaine, and folate in the treatment of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which was organized by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in collaboration with the Office of Dietary Supplements and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) and held on 3 October 2005. SAM supplementation may attenuate ALD by decreasing oxidative stress through the up-regulation of glutathione synthesis, reducing inflammation via the down-regulation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and the up-regulation of interleukin-10 synthesis, increasing the ratio of SAM to S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), and inhibiting the apoptosis of normal hepatocytes and stimulating the apoptosis of liver cancer cells. Folate deficiency may accelerate or promote ALD by increasing hepatic homocysteine and SAH concentrations; decreasing hepatic SAM and glutathione concentrations and the SAM-SAH ratio; increasing cytochrome P4502E1 activation and lipid peroxidation; up-regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress markers, including sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1, and proapoptotic gene caspase-12; and decreasing global DNA methylation.

Unique aspects of lysine nutrition and metabolism.

Lysine nutrition is unique among indispensable amino acids in that it can be conserved and can be fed 12 h out of phase (delayed supplement) with the other dietary amino acids. In piglets, high levels (2-6%) of L-lysine added to a 10% protein diet can be tolerated without obvious detrimental effects. In both rat and piglet liver preparations, the first enzyme in the saccharopine-dependent pathway of lysine catabolism, lysine alpha-ketoglutarate reductase (LKR), is found only in the mitochondrial matrix.

Consideration of betaine and one-carbon sources of N5-methyltetrahydrofolate for use in homocystinuria and neural tube defects.

A major focus in attempts to ameliorate homocystinuria and neural tube defects is supplementation of the diet with B vitamins. The metabolic defect in these cases may be due in part to a deficiency of methyl groups. B vitamin supplementation supports the need for enzyme cofactors but cannot provide substrate in the form of methyl groups.

The contribution of body protein to the supply of energy in starved newborn piglets is not preferentially suppressed by intravenous provision of glucose and fat.

Newborn piglets were used to study body protein preservation because it is critical to the survival of premature infants. Quantitative estimates of endogenous fuel use were obtained from 12 to 72 h of age in male piglets. Of the 40 piglets used (1300 +/- 205 g, mean +/- SD), 16 served as a 12-h-old body composition reference (R), 16 were starved (S) and received water only, and 8 received supplemental energy (E), obtaining 70% [210 kJ/(kg x d)] of their resting energy requirement as an i.

Recovery of (15)n in the body, urine, and gas phase of piglets infused intravenously with (15)n L-alanine from 12-72 hours of age.

Previous studies of nitrogen metabolism provided evidence suggesting that nitrogen excretory product(s) not measured by standard methods of analysis escape detection. To determine whether (15)N could be recovered quantitatively in the body, urine, or expired gas, newborn piglets (n = 16; 1.47 +/- 0.