Relation between growth and bone collagen content in young pigs, effects of dietary alpha-ketoglutarate supplementation

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with α-ketoglutarate (AKG) sodium salt on growth rate in relation to bone collagen formation during the first 70 d of postnatal life in piglets. The results show that dietary AKG supplementation increased body weight of the experimental piglets in comparison to the controls, especially between 21st and 56th d of life (P≤0.01). Moreover, the area of collagen trabeculae slightly increased in experimental age sub-groups and reached the highest differences between 14th (P≤0.01) and 70th d of piglets life (P≤0.001). In contrast, the highest values for the number of collagen trabeculae were observed in piglets at 3rd d of age, regardless of treatment group. The positive effect of AKG supplementation on the number of collagen trabeculae was found between 3 and 35th d of life, with statistical confirmation at days 14, 35, and 56 (P≤0.01). The data-lines of the bone strain showed similar course during the whole experimental period, except 56th d of life, when the experimental piglets reached statistically significant, higher values in comparison to the controls (P≤0.05). Similarly, the blood plasma osteocalcin reached the highest concentration in experimental sub-groups from 21st d oflife in comparison to the controls, with statistical significance at the age of 56 (P≤0.05). These data indicate that dietary AKG supplementation effectively stimulated collagen synthesis in young growing piglets, both before and after weaning.