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Metabolic and Endocrine Changes in Response to Endotoxin Administration With or Without Oral Arginine Supplementation

Division of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,University of Berne, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland

Corresponding author:
J. W. Blum; e-mail:
blum{at}itz.unibe.ch.

This study was performed to investigate blood metabolite, tumor necrosis factor-, and hormone responses to intravenous administration of lipopolysaccharides (2 µg of endotoxin of Escherichia coli O26:B6/kg body weight at times of feeding) in veal calves orally supplemented with arginine (0.25 g/kg of body weight twice daily for 4 d; group GrA) compared with calves not supplemented with arginine (group GrC). Arginine supplementation alone caused a significant rise of plasma arginine, urea, and insulin concentrations, whereas glucagon concentrations tended to increase, but there were no significant group differences. Concentrations of triglycerides, NEFA, glucose, protein, albumin, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I, 3.5.3'-triiodothyronine, and thyroxine were not affected by arginine supplementation. Lipopolysaccharide administration alone caused a rise of tumor necrosis-factor-, lactate, and cortisol concentrations and concentrations of tumor necrosis-factor- after 1 h, and of triglycerides and urea after 6 h were higher, whereas of glucose after 3 h were lower in GrA than in GrC. Concentrations of NEFA, glucose, protein, albumin, insulin, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I, 3.5.3'-triiodothyronine, and thyroxine were not affected by lipopolysaccharide administration. In conclusion, arginine supplementation had selective effects on plasma metabolites and hormones, but barely modified lipopolysaccharide effects. Effects of lipopolysaccharides in the postprandial state were different from what is usually seen in the fasted state.

Abbreviation key: GH = growth hormone, GrA = group supplemented with arginine, GrC = control group, LPS = lipopolysaccharides, NO = nitric oxide, TG = triglycerides, TNF- = tumor necrosis factor-, T₃ = 3.5.3'-triiodothyronine, T₄ = thyroxine

Key Words: veal calf • arginine • endotoxin • metabolite