L-glutamine
helps pigs fight off diseases in addition to its known benefits as a growth
promotant, says a team of U.S. federal agriculture department scientists.
They
fed some pigs rations that included antibiotics which are known to curb
diseases and increase growth rates and found that pigs fed a supplement of
L-glutamine performed equally well.
A
third group fed neither antibiotics nor L-glutamine did not perform as well.
Throughout
the 14-day dietary treatment phase, feed intake was greater overall in pigs fed
glutamine compared to either of the other groups, while pigs fed antibiotics
performed better than those given neither supplement.
Body
weights for the glutamine and antibiotic groups were similar, with both being
heavier than those in the non-supplement groups, reports the team which works
in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service.
The
results were recently published in the Journal of Animal Science.
Note the next story about the activists' push to ban many antibiotics from use by livestock farmers.
