ANIMAL NUTRITION
Prepared by:
Melissa O. Bajamundi
WHAT IS NUTRITION?
• The act or process of nourishing or being nourished.
• The series of processes by which an organism takes in and
assimilates food to promote growth and replace worn and
injured cells (Lloyd, Mcdonald, and Crapton.1978.Fundamentals of Nutrition).
• Nutrition is the process by which a nutrient-containing
component is
• Ingested and converted into its primary nutrients and
• How these nutrients are transported to and used by
various cells in the body for maintenance and production
(Stein,2005).
WHAT IS NUTRITION?
• Nutrition includes:
1. food intake
2. Digestion, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis and
catabolism of nutrients and
3. Excretion of metabolites
The objective of animal nutrition is to improve the survival,
growth, and health of animals by understanding their
metabolism and the roles of dietary nutrients.
Classes of Nutrients and Their Characteristics
Water
• Cheapest and most abundant nutrient
• Makes up to 65-85% of animal body weight at birth and 45-60% of
body weight at maturity
• Percentage of body water decreases with animal age and has an
inverse relationship with body fat
Carbohydrate
• Made up of C (40%), H (7%), O (53%) by % molecular weight
• Functions in the animal body
- source of energy
- source of heat
- building stores for other nutrients
- stored in animal body by converting to fats
• Deficiencies of abnormal metabolism
-Ketosis –occurs when the body uses fat for energy instead of carbs
-Diabetes mellitus – a condition where the body has difficulty
regulating blood sugar(glucose) due to problems with insulin production
or function.
Carbohydrates
• The primary energy source, including:
- Monosaccharides - glucose, fructose, galactose
- Disaccharides – sucrose, lactose, and maltose
- Polysaccharides – starch, cellulose, hemicellulose,
glycogen
Fats (Lipids or Ether Extract)
• Made up (molecular weight) of C (77%), H (12%), and O (11%)
• Fat will yield 2.25 times more energy than carbohydrates or proteins
• Functions
- Dietary supply
- Source of heat, insulation, protection for animal body
- Source of essential fatty acids (linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acid)
- Serve as a carrier for absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
• Deficiency and abnormal metabolism
- Skin lesions, hair loss, and reduced growth rate
- Ketosis – catabolism of body fat
- Fatty liver – abnormal metabolism of liver
• Location and natural resources of fat
-Animal body: subcutaneous, surrounding internal organs, marbling, and milk
Proteins
• Large molecules made up (by molecular weight) of C (53%), H (7%), O
(23%), N (16%), and P (1%)
• Crude Protein – composed of true proteins and any nitrogenous products;
crude protein = %N x 6.25
• Protein Quality refers to the amount and ratio of essential amino acids
present in protein
• Essential amino acids – those amino acids that are essential to the animal
and must be supplied in the diet because the animal cannot synthesize
them fast enough to meet its requirements:
Phenylalanine Methionine
Valine Histidine
Threonine Arginine
Trytophan Leucine
Isoleucine Lysine
• Non-essential amino acids – amino acids that are essential to the animal but
are normally synthesized or sufficient in the diet and need not be
supplemented.
Alanine Glutamine
Asparagines Glycine
Aspartic acid Hydroxyproline
Cysteine Proline
Cystine Serine
Glutamic acid Tyrrosine
Functions
• Basic structural unit of the animal body, ex. Collagen, elastin, contractile protein,
keratin proteins, blood proteins
• Body metabolism – enzymes, hormones, immune antibodies, hereditary
transmission
• Deficiencies and abnormalities
• Symptom: reduced growth rate and feed efficiency, anorexia, infertility
• Amino acid deficiency – lack of an important amino acid, which results in
deamination
Minerals
Minerals are the inorganic elements that support skeletal structure, enzymatic reactions, and
metabolic processes. The total mineral content of plants or animals is often called ash -refers to
the total amount of inorganic minerals
Classification
• Major minerals – normally present at greater level in animal body or needed in relatively large
amounts in the diet. Include Ca, P, Mg, K, Mg, S, Na. (macro)
• Trace Minerals – are normally present at low levels in the animal body or needed in small
amounts in the diet (Cu, Zn, Co, F, I, Fe, Mn, Se, and are toxic at large quantities) (micro)
General Functions:
• Skeletal formation and maintenance – Ca, P, Mg, Cu, Mn,
• Function in protein synthesis - P, S, Zn
• Oxygen transport - Fe, Cu
• Fluid Balance (osmotic pressure) – Na, Cl, K
• Regulating acid base balance of the entire system – Na, Cl, K
• Activators and /or components of enzyme systems – Ca, P, K, Mg, Cu, Mn, Zn
• Mineral – vitamin relationship – Ca, P, Co, Se
Vitamins
- Essential for the development of normal tissue necessary for
metabolic activity but do not enter the structural portion of the body
- Cannot be synthesized by the animal
Classification and structure
• Fat soluble – (ADEK) stored in body fat and needed for vision, bone
growth, and immune functions
• Water-soluble vitamins – thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine,
pantothenic acid, biotin, choline, folic acid
• Functions and Deficiencies
• Play as regulator of metabolism, necessary for growth and maintenance
• Vitamin requirement may also increase in old age due to difficulties in
absorption and utilization
Thank you!
