The intestinal absorption of pig and bovine immune lactoglobulin and human serum albumin by the new-born pig.

Abstract

1. Homologous and heterologous colostral immune globulins and human serum albumin were fed to new-born pigs and an attempt was made to estimate the amounts appearing subsequently in serum.2. All three proteins, fed separately in large amounts to different pigs, appeared in the serum in low concentration about 45 min after feeding, and then rose quickly to a high level. No difference could be detected between the amounts absorbed when equal amounts had been fed but there was a wide variation between pigs. Previous dialysis of pig colostrum against bicarbonate saline did not affect the rate or amount of pig immune globulin absorbed after feeding.3. When pig and bovine colostral IgG were fed together at equal concentrations in bovine colostrum, the absorption of pig IgG was greater than that of bovine IgG. Human serum albumin, added to bovine colostral IgG in bovine colostrum, was absorbed readily and this did not interfere significantly with the absorption of bovine colostral IgG.4. The efficiency with which the pig intestine absorbed bovine colostral IgG depended on the dose and/or concentration fed, increasing as the dose fed was increased to 2 g and remaining constant for higher doses.5. Some of the absorbed immune globulin was shown to exist in a partly degraded form.6. The process of protein transfer across the intestine of the new-born pig may select, to a limited degree, between different proteins, but the digestion of protein shown to take place and the large variation between individual pigs makes interpretation of these results uncertain.