Lecture 3.2 – case 3 nutrition
Self- study:
Breeding and keeping animals around a settlement was more comfortable and
more sustainable than hunting animals. Animals need food to stay alive, to grow
and to reproduce.
For farm animals a good diet is especially important, because they do not only
have to live and reproduce, but also to deliver edible products:
- the activation of muscle tissue during growth: meat
- high reproductive activity: many eggs or many offspring
- give more milk than necessary for their own offspring
In order to be able to make these products, the animal needs nutrients in the
right quantities and at the right time.
Essential nutrients:
- water
- energy producing compounds (organic)
- proteins
- fatty acids
- minerals
- vitamins
nutrients:
blood and muscle- and nerve tissue contain 75% water. Bone tissue and fat
contain 20% water. Water serves as a means of dissolving and transporting
nutrients and waste products. Furthermore, water functions as a "coolant" to
absorb and dissipate the heat that is released during the metabolic activity.
Energy:
Energy is needed for all vital life functions, such as heart rate, respiration, cell
tone and nerve and muscle functions. Because the synthesis of body tissue is
based on endothermic reaction processes, energy is also needed for this. In
addition to these basic processes, movement and production require energy.
The heat released during these activities is usually sufficient to compensate for
the heat losses as a result of the temperature difference between the body and
the environment. If this is not the case, warm-blooded animals must produce
extra heat in order to maintain their body temperature, for example through
muscle twitches.
The energy yield for the animal is determined by the amount of energy that the
burning of nutrients via metabolism produces. Burning energy is lost as heat.
The group of energy-rich compounds consists of adenine, ribose and one to three
phosphorus groups. This group includes AMP, ADP and ATP. The energy stored in
ATP is used for metabolic processes.
aerobic combustion: oxidation
, 1 g of pure fat yields 40.2 kJ
1 g of protein yields 24.3 kJ
1 g of starch gives 17.6 kJ
1 g of glucose gives 15.6 kJ
of heat
Waste products:
- Water excreted via evaporation and urine
- Carbon dioxide excreted via respiration
- Heat lost through skin or evaporation
Lack of oxygen leads to reduced metabolism and activity of the animals and in
severe cases to death.
For warm-blooded animals at a normal ambient temperature more heat is
released during metabolism than is necessary for maintaining the body
temperature. The excess part has to be lost by evaporation, flow, conduction and
radiation. This is a loss of nutritional energy.
Proteins:
Proteins are made up of building blocks: amino acids. They have an amine (-C-
NH2) and a carboxylic acid (-COOH) group. Some also contain sulphur and are
therefore called sulphuric amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids that
occur in animal proteins.
The arrangement of amino acids in the protein determine the specific properties
of the protein.
The amino acids that the higher animal species cannot build themselves must be
included in the feed. These amino acids are therefore called essential amino
acids.
The quality of feed protein is determined by the protein content and the amino
acid composition. This is less for ruminants than for other animal species. Due to
the presence of microorganisms in the rumen the contribution of feed protein in
the provision of essential amino acids for ruminants is of less importance.
Aminogenic nutrients: are nutrients that directly contribute to the
synthesis of proteins.
The most important quality characteristics for protein evaluation are protein
digestibility and the amino acid composition of the digestible protein.
Self- study:
Breeding and keeping animals around a settlement was more comfortable and
more sustainable than hunting animals. Animals need food to stay alive, to grow
and to reproduce.
For farm animals a good diet is especially important, because they do not only
have to live and reproduce, but also to deliver edible products:
- the activation of muscle tissue during growth: meat
- high reproductive activity: many eggs or many offspring
- give more milk than necessary for their own offspring
In order to be able to make these products, the animal needs nutrients in the
right quantities and at the right time.
Essential nutrients:
- water
- energy producing compounds (organic)
- proteins
- fatty acids
- minerals
- vitamins
nutrients:
blood and muscle- and nerve tissue contain 75% water. Bone tissue and fat
contain 20% water. Water serves as a means of dissolving and transporting
nutrients and waste products. Furthermore, water functions as a "coolant" to
absorb and dissipate the heat that is released during the metabolic activity.
Energy:
Energy is needed for all vital life functions, such as heart rate, respiration, cell
tone and nerve and muscle functions. Because the synthesis of body tissue is
based on endothermic reaction processes, energy is also needed for this. In
addition to these basic processes, movement and production require energy.
The heat released during these activities is usually sufficient to compensate for
the heat losses as a result of the temperature difference between the body and
the environment. If this is not the case, warm-blooded animals must produce
extra heat in order to maintain their body temperature, for example through
muscle twitches.
The energy yield for the animal is determined by the amount of energy that the
burning of nutrients via metabolism produces. Burning energy is lost as heat.
The group of energy-rich compounds consists of adenine, ribose and one to three
phosphorus groups. This group includes AMP, ADP and ATP. The energy stored in
ATP is used for metabolic processes.
aerobic combustion: oxidation
, 1 g of pure fat yields 40.2 kJ
1 g of protein yields 24.3 kJ
1 g of starch gives 17.6 kJ
1 g of glucose gives 15.6 kJ
of heat
Waste products:
- Water excreted via evaporation and urine
- Carbon dioxide excreted via respiration
- Heat lost through skin or evaporation
Lack of oxygen leads to reduced metabolism and activity of the animals and in
severe cases to death.
For warm-blooded animals at a normal ambient temperature more heat is
released during metabolism than is necessary for maintaining the body
temperature. The excess part has to be lost by evaporation, flow, conduction and
radiation. This is a loss of nutritional energy.
Proteins:
Proteins are made up of building blocks: amino acids. They have an amine (-C-
NH2) and a carboxylic acid (-COOH) group. Some also contain sulphur and are
therefore called sulphuric amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids that
occur in animal proteins.
The arrangement of amino acids in the protein determine the specific properties
of the protein.
The amino acids that the higher animal species cannot build themselves must be
included in the feed. These amino acids are therefore called essential amino
acids.
The quality of feed protein is determined by the protein content and the amino
acid composition. This is less for ruminants than for other animal species. Due to
the presence of microorganisms in the rumen the contribution of feed protein in
the provision of essential amino acids for ruminants is of less importance.
Aminogenic nutrients: are nutrients that directly contribute to the
synthesis of proteins.
The most important quality characteristics for protein evaluation are protein
digestibility and the amino acid composition of the digestible protein.
