CONTACT HOURS:   102 hours Lectures and Practicals

 LECIVRERS:
                  Dr P.N.B Ndiweni (Course Coordinator)
                  Dr S. Sibanda
                  Dr L.R. Ndlovu
                  Dr C. Mutisi
                  Dr J. Kusina
                  Mr I.D.T. Mpofu

 PRE-REQUISITES:
                  Agricultural Biochemistry (AS102)
                  Nutritional Biochemistry (AS203)
                  Animal Production (AS301) OR Equivalent Courses

 OBJECTIVES:

The course takes the students through an advanced level study of Nutritional Biochemistry. The course will cover in-depth discourses on   energy and protein metabolism and their interrelationships, forage and fiber utilization in ruminants, vitamin and mineral nutrition of ruminants and monogastric animals.

Supportive practicals oriented towards research techniques in animal nutrition will be included in the course.

 COURSE STRUCTURE

 Lectures:                                         30 x 2 hr
 Practicals/Field Classes: 21 x 2 hr

 Term Tests:                  One at the end of each of the five       sections.

 Final Examination:           1 x 3 hr written examination at the end of     Part 1.

COURSE ASSESSMENT (GRADES)

 Continuous Assessment:               30% of Final Grade

Students will be assessed through course sections taught and on their performance at practicals, assignments and section tests.

 FINAL GRADES

 Continuous Assessment:                30%
 Final Written Examination:            70%
                                      100%

 COURSE CONTENT

Lecture and practicals 51 x 2 (Blocks 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6). The course will be divided into 6 sections.

SECTION 1: ENERGY NUTRITION AND METABOLISM (Dr C. Mutisi/Dr J Kusina)

ENERGY NUTRITION AND METABOLISM OF RUMINENT ANIMALS (Dr C Mutisi)
(16 hrs)

INTRODUCTION

-       Importance of measuring energy values of feeds
-       History of the development of feed evaluation systems; their    advantages and disadvantages

FEATURES OF THE ME SYSTEM

-       expression of food energy
-       additive nature
-       animal requirements in absolute terms (NE)
-       efficiency factors linking NE to ME
-       use of energy density for predicting efficiency of utilization

DETERMINATION OF ME REQUIREMENTS AND EFFECTS OF NOT SATISFYING
REQUIREMENTS

-       maintenance
        *     fasting metabolism
        *     basal metabolism
        *     effects of environment

-       growth and fattening
        *      factors governing requirements
        *      factorial method and ARC

-       reproduction
        *      sexual maturity
        *      during spermatogenesis and oogenesis

-       pregnancy
        *     foetal growth

-       lactation

CALCULATION OF ME ALLOWANCES

 -     Dairy  Cow
       *       maintenance
       *       milk production
       *       liveweight changing
       *       appetite limits
       *       checking adequacy of ration
       *       formulating rations to meet desired levels of production
       *       feeding the dairy cow

 -     Growing and Fattening
       *       prediction of performance
       *       formulation of ration to meet desired level of production

 -     Pregnant Animals

 -     Other Ruminants

 ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO CHARACTERISATION OF FEEDS

 -     Measurements of feed chemistry of diets
 -     Modelling ruminant digestion and metabolism
 -     Quickly Fermentable Energy
 -     Slowly Fermentable Energy
 -     Unfermentable, Digestible Energy
 -     Unfermentable, Undigested Energy
 -     Prediction of Truly Metabolisable Energy

 ENERGY YIELDING NUTRIENTS AND THEIR METABOLISM

 -     Fermentation and Digestion of Energy yielding compounds
       *       carbohydrates
       *       lipids
       *       proteins

 -     Fate of VFA, lipids and amino acids after absorption

 -     glucose, glycogen, propionic acid, butyrate
 -     acetic acid, fat and amino acids as sources of energy
 -     Biosynthesis of cellular components
 -     Biosynthesis of storage materials
       *       fat

*       glycogen
          *       lactose

 ENERGY NUTRITION AND METABOLISM OF MONOGASTRIC ANIMALS
 (Dr J Kusina) (10 hrs)

  -       Energy systems
  -       Partition of energy
  -       Energy requirements of different classes of animals
  -       Energy metabolism and effects of hormones
  -       Use of fats in diets

SECTION 2:

FORAGE AND FIBRE UTILISATION - (14 hours)

  -   Chemistry and Morphology of plant cell walls
      *   Cellulose, Hemicellulose, lignin
      *   Secondary metabolites
          +    saponins
          +    oxalates
          +    tannins

  -   Importance of chemistry/morphology of fibre on animal metabolism and nutrition

  -   Physical properties of fiber and their importance in animal nutrition

  -   Physical communition of fiber in GIT

  -   Microbial digestion of fiber
      *   attachment
      *   factors affecting digestion
      *   ruminal versus post-ruminal

  -   Kinetics of cell wall digestion

  -   Effects of conservation and processing on cell wall digestion

  -  Applications of theory to practical feeding
      *   Agro by-products
      *   forages (fresh and conserved)
      *   browse (fresh and conserved/processed)

 Practicals

* Analytical techniques for tannins (chemical and biological)
  Calculations of kinetics of fibre digestion

SECTION 3:

PROTEIN NUTRITION OF MONOGASTRIC ANIMALS
(Dr J. Kusina) (14 hours)

*  Protein and its components
*  Ideal protein concept
*  Protein metabolism
*  Effects of energy on protein metabolism
*  Protein requirements of pigs and poultry
*  Dietary energy and protein interrelationships
*  Methods of evaluating protein quality
*  Effects of nutrition on production

SECTION 4:

PROTEIN NUTRITION AND METABOLISM OF RNMINENTS - (20 hours)

 - Metabolisable protein (MP) concept.
 - Degradation of feed proteins in the rumen
  *     Measurement of degradability
  *     Effects of rumen retention time and outflow rate
      * Partitioning of degradable fraction
      *    Quickly degradable protein
      *    Slowly degradable protein
      *    Effective rumen degradable protein
      *    Undegradable protein
      *    Effect of level of feeding on degradability

 - Microbial protein synthesis, estimation of microbial protein synthesis and supply
  * Values of microbial protein synthesis values
  *     Factors which affect microbial protein synthesis
  *     Digestible true protein supply

 - Efficiency of utilisation of metabolisable protein
  *     Ideal amino acid mixture
  *     Relative value of absorbed amino acid mixtures
  *     Working value of absorbed amino acid mixtures
  *     Working values

 - Requirements for metabolisable protein
*     Calculation of MP requirements: maintenance, milk, growth,   pregnancy

 - Diet formulation to meet MP requirements

- Comparison of MP system with other systems of rationing protein.
 -    Appropriate Practical and Field Classes to be arranged within each Section.
 Protein Biosynthesis

 -    Purines and pyrimidines, nucleosides and nucleotides
 -    The Structure of DNA
 -    The Structure of RNA -- mRNA, rRNA and tRNA
 -    DNA Replication -- the mechanism
 -    RNA biosynthesis -- transcription
 -    Protein biosynthesis
      * The genetic code
      *     Translation cycle
      *     Specificity of translation
 -    Cellular control of DNA synthesis

 Protein Accretion

 -    Animal growth  -   cellular growth by hyperplasia and hypertrophy
                     -   factors affecting protein synthesis

 -    Metabolic stability of body proteins

 -    Body protein turnover- importance
                           -  factors affecting turnover

 -    Control of protein synthesis and degradation

 Practicalsl/Techniques

 1.   Measurement of rumen degradability -- nylon bag technique
 2.   Measurement of rumen outflow rates
 3.   Estimation of microbial protein synthesis by purine derivative excretion in urine
 4.   Measurement of intestinal digestibility of protein by mobile bag technique
 5.   Calculation of MP requirements for ruminants: maintenance, milk, growth, pregnancy
 6.   Diet formulation to meet MP requirements

SECTION 5: VITAMIN AND MINERAL NUTRITION AND METABOLISM IN
                RUMINANT AND MONOGASTRIC ANIMALS (DR P.N.B. NDIWENI)/MR
                I.D.T. MPOFU) (28 hours)

 VITAMIN NUTRITION AND METABOLISM OF RUMINANT AND MONOGASTRIC
 ANIMALS (DR P.N.B. NDIWENI) (14 hrs)

 -       Concept of a vitamin and definitions
 -       Fat soluble and water soluble vitamins
 -       Retinol, vitamin D, E, K, riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid,     pantothenic acid, thiamin,
 -       biotin, cobalamin, pyridoxine, folic acid, choline
         *  Chemistry, synthesis, metabolism, physiological action   biochemical action, transport, storage, deficiency, toxicity  and diagnosis, dietary sources, requirements, (quantitative   and practical criteria), therapeutic uses
 -       Practical vitamin supplementation
 -       Experimental techniques in vitamin research
 -       New developments in vitamin nutrition -- use of metabolites,     effects of vitamins in disease treatment, immunity
 -       Future research needs.

 Practicals

 1. Research Techniques in vitamin research
 2. Bioassay of vitamins

 MINERAL NUTRITION AND METABOLISM OF RUMINANT AND MONOGASTRIC
 ANIMALS (Mr I.D.T. Mpofu) (14 hours)

 -    Sources of minerals
  * forage, water, soil
 -    Factors affecting micronutrient content of forage
 -    Mineral requirements
 -    Incidence of mineral deficiencies and toxicities
 -    Diagnosis of mineral deficiencies and imbalances
 -    A mapping technique for determining mineral deficiencies and toxicities
 -    Production responses to mineral supplementation
 -    Indirect methods of providing minerals
 -    Direct methods of mineral supplementation
 -    Free choice (free access) mineral supplementation and information required for free choice mineral supplement formulation
 -    Anti nutritional factors, example and effects

SECTION 6: RESEARCH TECHNIQUES IN ANIMAL NUTRITION (All Lecturers)

This section is designed to prepare students to use research techniques  used in animal nutrition research. Practices which cannot be done during each section, due to length or time required, will be blocked as a separate practical section.