N-carbamylglycinate (CGly) is a derivative of glycine and an analogue of N-carbamylglutamate.

Recently, a research team led by Dr. WAN Dan from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture (ISA) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences investigated effects of CGly on reproductive performance of sows in the late gestation. The study was published in Food & Function.

They found its novel nutritional roles in amino acid metabolism, which could improve the reproductive performance in sows in this period.

In this study, thirty-two pregnant sows were randomly divided into two groups, the control group and the treatment group (CGly, 800 mg kg^-1).

Researchers found that CGly supplementation to sows in late pregnancy improved the litter size, litter weights and the content of amino acids in serum of sows, especially glycine, proline and ornithine.

Litter weight in the two groups was 16.63 kg for the control group and 18.81 kg for the CGly group, respectively. In addition, CGly group had a higher number of live cubs.

Compared with the control group, concentrations of glycine, proline, and ornithine were higher in the CGly group. Ornithine is closely related to proline metabolism.

Thus, supplementation of CGly may improve the nutrient levels of proline and glycine in sows, and then improve the birth litter weights.

Furthermore, in vitro studies showed that the increase of proline level may be attributed to the increase of SLC6A20 and SLC38A2 mRNA expression in monolayer IPEC-J2 cells by both CGly and glycine.

The requirement of nutrient is increased in the late-gestation period due to the faster growth of the foetal-placental unit and the expansion of the maternal erythrocyte mass. Glycine, proline and arginine are important amino acids to promote the growth and development of the fetus.

Contact: WU Xin

E-mail: wuxin@isa.ac.cn

Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences