Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

High Dietary Copper Increases Catecholamine Concentrations in the Hypothalami and Midbrains of Growing Pigs

  • Published:
Biological Trace Element Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of high dietary copper on catecholamine concentration and dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DβH) activity in hypothalami and midbrains of growing pigs. Forty-five crossbred weanling pigs with an average body weight of 7.5 kg were randomly assigned to three groups of 15 each to receive a control diet containing 10 mg/kg Cu (diet A) and diets containing 125 (diet B) or 250 (diet C) mg Cu/kg DM for 45 days. Compared to the control, Cu supplementation at both 125 and 250 mg Cu/kg DM increased average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed efficiency. High dietary copper increased midbrain and hypothalami dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) concentrations and midbrain dopamine-β-hydroxylase activity. However, increasing dietary Cu had no effect on hypothalami dopamine-β-hydroxylase activity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Jondreville C, Revy PS, Dourmad JY (2003) Dietary means to better control the environ-mental impact of copper and zinc by pigs from weaning to slaughter. Livest Prod Sci 84:147–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Braude R (1945) Some observations on the need for copper in the diet of fattening pigs. J Agric Sci 35:163–167

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Burnell TW, Cromwell GL, Stahly TS (1988) Effects of dried whey and copper sulfate on the growth responses to organic acid in diets for weanling pigs. J Anim Sci 66:1100–1107

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Cromwell GL, Stahly TS, Monegue HJ (1989) Effects of source and level of copper on performance and liver copper stores in weanling pigs. J Anim Sci 67:2996–3002

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Cao J, Miao X, Xu W, et al (2014) Dietary copper requirements of juvenile large yellow croaker. Larimichthys croceus Aquaculture 432:346–350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Agga GE, Scott HM, Amachawadi RG, et al (2014) Effects of chlortetracycline and copper supplementation on antimicrobial resistance of fecal Escherichia coli from weaned pigs. Prev. Vet Med 114:231–246

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhou W, Kornegay ET, Lindemann MD (1994) Stimulation of growth by intravenous injection of copper in weanling pigs. J Anim Sci 72:2395–2403

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Yang W, Wang J, Liu L, et al (2011) Effect of high dietary copper on somatostatin and growth hormone-releasing hormone levels in the hypothalami of growing pigs. Biol Trace Elem Res 143:893–900

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Li J, Yang L, Zheng X, et al (2008) Effect of high dietary copper on weight gain and neuropeptide Y level in the hypothalamus of pigs. J Trace Elem Med Biol 22:33–38

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Edmonds CA, Izquierdo OA, Bark DH (1985) Feed additive study with newly weanling pigs: efficacy of supplement copper, antibiotics and organic acids. J Anim Sci 60:462–469

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Prohaska JR, Bailey WR, Gross AM, et al (1990) Effects of dietary copper deficiency on the distribution of dopamine and norepinephrine in mice and rats. J Nutr Biochem 1:149–154

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Gajewskaa A, Gajkowskab B, Pajakb B, et al (2009) Impaired growth hormone-releasing hormone neurons ultrastructure and peptide accumulation in the arcuate nucleus of mosaic mice with altered copper metabolism. Brain Res Bull 80:128–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Fitzgerald PA (2011). Chapter 11. Adrenal medulla and paraganglia. In Gardner, D. G.; Shoback, D. Greenspan’s basic & clinical endocrinology (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=8404198. Retrieved October 26, 2011

  14. Prohaska JR, Wells WW (1974) Copper deficiency in developing rat brain: a possible model for Menkes’steely-hair disease. J Neurochem 23:91–98

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. O’Dell BL, Smith RM, King RA (1976) Effects of copper status on brain neurotransmitter metabolism in the lamb. J Neurochem 26:451–455

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Engle TE, Spears JW (2000) Dietary copper effects on lipid metabolism, perfor-mance, and ruminal fermentation in finishing steers. J Anim Sci 78:2452–2458

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Strausak D, Mercer JF, Dieter HH, et al (2001) Copper in disorders with neurological symptoms: Alzheimer’s, Menkes, and Wilson diseases. Brain Res Bull 55:175–185

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Joshua W. Pyatskowit, Prohaska Joseph R. (2007). Rodent brain and heart catecholamine levels are altered by different models of copper deficiency. Comp Biochem Physiol C, 145; 275-281

    Google Scholar 

  19. Zhou X, Espey MG, Chen JX, et al (2000) Inhibitory effects of nitric oxide and nitrosative stress on dopamine-betahydroxylase. J Biolumin Chemilumin 275:21241–21246

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Gonzales-Eguis A, Chao-Ming F, Lu F-Y (2009) Effects of nanocopper on copper availability and nutrients digestibility, growth performance and serum traits of piglets. Livest Sci 126:122–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Stahly TS, Cromwell GL, Monegue HJ (1980) Effects of the dietary inclusion of copper and (or) antibiotics on the performance of weanling pigs. J Anim Sci 51:1347–1351

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Zhang W, Wang R, Kleemann DO, et al (2009) Effect of dietary copper on nutrient digestibility, growth performance and plasma cooper status in cashmere goats. Small Rumin Res 85:58–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Yangen Z, Aleen Davis D, Rhodes MA (2014) Comparative evaluation of copper sulfate and tribasic copper chloride on growth performance and tissue response in pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei fed practical diets. Aquaculture 434:411–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Armstrong TA, Cook DR, Ward MM, et al (2004) Effect of dietary copper source (cupric citrate and cupric sulfate) and concentration on growth performance and fecal copper excretion in weanling pigs. J Anim Sci 82:1234–1240

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhang Q, Lin HR (1998) Influences of catecholaminergic drugs on growth hormone secretion to grasscarp fingerings. J Zhanjing Ocean Univ 818:35–38

    Google Scholar 

  26. Liu LL, Sun BS, Yang W (1998) Improved method to detect activity of dopamine β-hydroxylase in rat serum by ultraviolet fluorophotometer [J]. J Jilin Univ (Medicine Edition) 18:35–38

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the national science and technology support program (grant no. 2012BAD39B03), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 31302002), the National Science Foundation of Jilin Province of China (grant no. 20150101075JC), and the Jilin Provincial Department of Education project (grant no. 201252).

Author information

Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China

      Wenyan Yang, Chunyu Zhao & Lianyu Yang

    2. Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471000, China

      Cai Zhang

    Authors
    1. Wenyan Yang
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    2. Chunyu Zhao
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    3. Cai Zhang
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    4. Lianyu Yang
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Lianyu Yang.

    Additional information

    Wenyan Yang and Chunyu Zhao contributed equally to this study. Both are considered as first authors.

    Rights and permissions

    Reprints and permissions

    About this article

    Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

    Cite this article

    Yang, W., Zhao, C., Zhang, C. et al. High Dietary Copper Increases Catecholamine Concentrations in the Hypothalami and Midbrains of Growing Pigs. Biol Trace Elem Res 170, 115–118 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0460-y

    Download citation

    • Received:

    • Accepted:

    • Published:

    • Issue Date:

    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0460-y

    Keywords

    Search

    Navigation