AN APPROACH TO THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN GASTROINTESTINAL HORMONES AND DRY MATTER INTAKE IN RUMINANTS

Gastrointestinal hormones are related to feed intake. Despite the fact that the mechanisms of action of many of these hormones in non-ruminant animals is relatively well known, in ruminants their function is still not understood, and results reported in the literature are often contradictory. For this reason, this essay discusses how insulin, ghrelin, colecistokinin (CCK), peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) and peptides derived from the proglucagon gen (oxyntomodlin, glicentin and glucagon-like peptides 1 and 2 (GLP-1 and GLP-2)) are related to dry matter intake (DMI) in ruminants. These hormones also have a function in the regulation of metabolism, which will be discussed in another essay. The evidence suggests that in ruminants, insulin, CCK and GLP-1 reduce DMI, while ghrelin increases DMI. The function of oxyntomodulin, GLP-2 and PYY is little known in ruminants.