Effect of ration composition on gene expression of some metabolism contributing hepatic enzymes in fattening lambs

This research was conducted to study the effects of ration composition on blood metabolites and gene expression of some hepatic enzymes. 18 hybrids (crossbred) male lambs (Ghezel- Merino, Ghezel- Baloochi and Merino- Moghani) were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental treatments. Barley grain as the main part of the ration was replaced with restaurant waste (RW) in the levels of 50 and 100 percent, so dietary treatments were as follow: 1) control group (no RW), 2) T50 or replacement of 50% of barley grain by RW and 3) T100 or replacement of whole barley grain with RW. Rations were fed to the lambs three times daily as total mixed rations for 110 days. After slaughtering the lambs, samples of liver were collected for gene expression study of hepatic aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) enzymes. The results illustrated that blood glucose content significantly affected by experimental treatments (p<0.05) however there was no effect detected on blood BUN and BHBA. Inversely experimental periods affected blood BUN and BHBA significantly (p<0.05) but not for glucose. Gene expression of hepatic AST and PEPCK enzymes were affected by dietary treatments (p<0.05). In conclusion, the results of the study confirmed that replacement of dietary barley grain by RW indirectly influenced gene expression of the liver AST and PEPCK enzymes through modification of digestion and absorption process and blood metabolites changes.