Effect of dietary energy levels on the urinary excretion of purine derivatives in sheep

The effect of dietary energy levels on the urinary excretion of purine derivatives (PD) was investigated in sheep fed hay and concentrate diets. In addition, the possibility of using PD concentrations in spot samples of urine as a useful tool for determining daily PD excretion was also examined. Three female lambs (mean bodyweight (BW) ± standard error, 31.4 ± 1.0 kg) were fed three diets consisting of timothy hay (20 g dry matter/kg BW per day) and rolled barley at three different energy levels (low‐energy (LE), medium‐energy (ME) and high‐energy (HE) at 1.0‐, 1.2‐ and 1.5‐fold greater than the maintenance level of energy (450 KJ/BW^0.75/day), respectively) in a 3 × 3 Latin square design. The dietary protein level was almost constant (380 mg nitrogen/BW^0.75/day as digestible crude protein base) and was adjusted using soybean protein. Digestible organic matter intake (DOMI) increased (P < 0.05) with an increase in the dietary energy level and there was a difference (P < 0.05) in the organic matter digestibility between the LE and HE diets. For urinary PD excretion, the differences between the LE and ME diets and the HE diet were significant (P < 0.05), although there was no clear difference between the LE and ME diets. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.47, P < 0.05) between urinary PD excretion and DOMI. There was also a correlation (r = 0.59, P < 0.05) between the urinary PD level at 7–8 h after the morning feed and the daily total PD excretion, suggesting that the PD level in spot urine samples could be useful for estimating microbial protein synthesized in the rumen and/or digested in the lower gut.