Relationship between BCAA and blood pH in diarrheic calves

Abstract

Neonatal diarrhea leads to overall loss of not only electrolytes and water, but also decreases carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids in calves. The mean fecal fat content was higher in calves with diarrhea than in healthy calves, and the mean caloric intake from milk was decreased by 31% in diarrheic calves compared with that in healthy calves. The negative energy balance continues during the diarrhea period. In addition, diarrheic calves fall into metabolic acidosis. Several studies have demonstrated that metabolic acidosis activates the catabolism of proteins and oxidation of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) in muscle. If plasma amino acid profiles of diarrheic calves are similar with those in human with acidemia, more energy may be required for diarrheic calves with acidemia. However, intravenous nutrition for diarrheic calves with proteolysis-induced acidemia is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between acid-base status and plasma BCAA concentration in calves with diarrhea. This data may be useful for intravenous nutrition, especially with amino acid solutions, in calves with diarrhea.