Administration of biogenic amines to Saanen kids: effects on growth performance, meat quality and gut histology

We examined effects of administering biogenic amines (putrescine, cadaverine, tryptamine, -phenylethylamine, spermine and histamine) to 15 weaned Saanen kids (2 months old; 11.6±1.4 kgBW) for 14 days. The kids were randomly assigned to three groups: control (no amines), oral dose (OD), 1.4 g per day of amines by oral administration, and feed dose (FD), 1.4 g per day of amines mixed with the diet. DMI and body weight (BW) were recorded daily before morning feeding. On day 15, the OD and control animals were slaughtered and selected muscles analyzed for physical characteristics. Samples of rumen, abomasum, liver, pancreas, duodenum, jejunum, and distal ileum were analyzed histologically. In the OD group, DMI and growth rate were reduced compared to control group and a smaller effect on the same variables was observed in FD group. On day 14, BW was lower (P < 0.05) in the OD group than controls and the FD group. Meat quality was also affected by the treatment in that muscle drip loss and color (redness and yellowness) were increased. Microscopic analysis showed that direct oral administration of amines had a negative effect on the histological characteristics of all the visceral organs examined. Oral amine administration therefore has detrimental effects on the parameters investigated in post-weaning Saanen kids. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved