Feed Intervention
TechSheet 35
Intervention type
>> Interventions targeting monogastrics
Amino acid supplementation for monogastrics
Description

Lysine and methionine are essential amino acids (i.e. building
blocks of proteins) that are found naturally in forage
legumes, grain legumes such as soybean and other highprotein sources such as fish meal. They are essential for good
growth, and lactation and reproduction of pigs and poultry
(i.e. monogastric animals).

Lysine and methionine are frequently deficient in proteins
from plant origin, it is therefore often more economic to add
these synthetic amino acids commercially available in
premixes, than adding animal protein sources.

The amount of amino acids needed in animal diets varies
with age, stage of growth and productivity of animals. NRC
standards provide a rough guide for the amount of lysine
and methionine required for maintenance of pigs (NRC,
2012):
Commercial L-Lysine HCL feed grade
available in the Indian Market.

Growing pig
(50 kg)
Gestating sow
(200 kg)
Lactating sow
(200 kg)
Lysine
1.3 g/day
1.8 g/day
2.5 g/day
Methionine
0.37 g/day
0.49 g/day
0.54 g/day
Amino acids are used routinely by commercial feed mills.
Key benefits
Feed grade DL methionine

If lacking in diets, adding essential amino acids has a very
significant impact. It improves weight gains, milk yields,
reproduction and health.

Can be very cost effective if particular amino acids are
missing in the diet. It can reduce the need for high levels of
protein that do not have the ‘right’ amino acid profile, or the
use of animal protein sources (e.g., fish meal) that are usually
more expensive.
Key limitations

There are only a relatively small number of suppliers and
there is limited availability in rural feed stores.

Requires a high level of animal nutrition knowledge.
TechFit is a tool to prioritize and select animal feed interventions. It was developed by ILRI under the leadership of Alan Duncan. It
has been further refined and developed with inputs from many individuals in and beyond CGIAR. This is one of a series of feed
intervention ‘TechSheets’ developed alongside the TechFit tool to provide summarized information on different interventions
included in the tool. Werner Stür led the development of the TechSheets. This sheet was prepared by Mario Cuchillo and Danilo
Pezo. TechFit is supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish. ilri.org/techfit
Where does this intervention fit?
Potential to overcome feed limitations
Score
 Feed scarcity during dry season :
none
 Feed scarcity during cropping season :
none
 Low feed availability :
none
 Poor feed quality :
very high
Applicability to livestock
Score
Cattle/buffalo
25 kg net bulk bag of commercial feed grade
DL-Methionine.
Sheep/goats
Pigs
 Breeding (cow-calf) :
n/a*
 Fattening :
n/a
 Dairy :
n/a
 Breeding :
n/a
 Fattening :
n/a
 Breeding (sow-piglets) :
very high
 Fattening :
medium
Applicability to farming system
Score
 Pastoral (extensive grazing systems) :
n/a
 Agro-pastoral/extensive mixed systems :
low
 Intensive mixed crop-livestock system :
high
 Landless livestock producers :
high
Requirement for resources
Score
Requirement for
 Land :
none
 Water :
none
 Labour :
low
 Cash/credit :
high
 Access to inputs :
very high
 Knowledge/skills :
very high
* n/a = not applicable
More information:



National Research Council. 2012. Nutrient Requirements of Swine. Washington DC, USA: National
Academy Press. www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13298
Ly, N.T. et al. 2012. Pig performance increases with the addition of DL-methionine and L-lysine to ensiled
cassava leaf protein diets. Tropical Animal Health and Production 44 (1): 165-172.
Hill, G.M. et al. 2007. Evaluation of sex and lysine during the nursery period. Journal of Animal Science
85:1453-1458.
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June 2015