Urinary and plasma metabolome of farm mink (Neovison vison) after an intervention with raw or cooked poultry offal: a ¹H NMR investigation

ABSTRACT

The introduction of high amounts of cooked poultry offal in mink feed has been associated with health problems in growing mink. Cooking mink feed is a convenient way of reducing microbiological activity, but it may have a negative effect on raw material quality and animal welfare. This study investigates growth and health of mink fed raw or cooked poultry offal and describes urinary and blood plasma metabolic changes related to the feeding. A total of 65 male mink were divided in three feeding groups, two fed cooked offal and one group fed raw offal, and the plasma and urine samples were collected at 3 time points during the growth. Both bio-fluids and feed samples were measured by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and resulted metabolomics data were analysed using univariate and multivariate statistical methods that revealed dominating effect of the mink growth stages and to a less extent the feeding regime. Metabolome differences in relation to low body mass index (BMI) and kidney lesions were observed in plasma. Disease and decrease in BMI was associated with high creatinine and dimethylglycine content in plasma. These molecules were also particularly indicative of the cooked feeds. Moreover, low urinary taurine levels were also associated with disease and low BMI. Individual mink appeared to show negative effects of the cooked feed diet, including impaired growth and gross pathological lesions involving the kidneys. This may be related to the absorption of essential metabolites such as amino acids and fats, necessary for mink growth, that are negatively impacted by the cooking process.

KEYWORDS:

• Metabolomics
• mink
• Neovison vison
• NMR spectroscopy
• poultry offal
• processing
• protein digestibility

Acknowledgments

This work was co-funded by Pelsdyrafgiftsfonden and Dansk Pelsdyravlerforenings Forskningsfond. The funding sources had no involvement in the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data or in the writing and submission of the manuscript for publication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary Material

Supplementary data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/1745039X.2021.2003682

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.