This study aimed to investigate the composition of plasma amino acids (p-AA) to enhance nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) in dairy cows and to propose appropriate metabolizable amino acid (m-AA) supplementation strategies. A systematic literature ...
This study aimed to investigate the composition of plasma amino acids (p-AA) to enhance nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) in dairy cows and to propose appropriate metabolizable amino acid (m-AA) supplementation strategies. A systematic literature review of 306 studies examining changes in p-AA composition resulted in the selection of 55 papers. From these papers, data from 72 studies comprising 211 experimental units were extracted.
In Chapter 3, the research conducted critical variable analysis to identify key p-AAs that could improve NUE, revealing that both plasma methionine (p-Met) and plasma histidine (p-His) are significant variables affecting NUE in terms of concentration and ratio. Chapter 4 further explored the effects of increased levels of p-Met or p-His on NUE and dairy performance through meta-analysis and subgroup analysis, assessing the variance in effects according to the metabolizable protein level in feed (MPA or MPD). It was found that different amino acids become limiting with varying MP levels. An increase in p-Met had a positive impact on NUE and milk yield when fed with MPA but not with MPD feed, whereas an increase in p-His exhibited significant positive effects with both MPA and MPD feeds. In Chapter 5, additional critical variable analysis identified important m-AAs for increasing the ratios of p-Met and p-His. The ratios of metabolizable methionine (m-Met), metabolizable leucine (m-Leu), and metabolizable histidine (m-His) were significant for increasing the p-Met ratio, while only the m-His ratio was significant for increasing p-His.
The study confirmed that the increase in Met and His among p-AAs could enhance NUE in dairy cows. Notably, p-Met was limited to MPA feed, whereas p-His was limited in both MPA and MPD feeds. These findings can be utilized as a reference for improving NUE and dairy performance through precision nutrition, considering the MP level of the feed.