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Discoveries in Agriculture and Food Sciences - Vol. 12, No. 3

 

Publication Date: June 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/dafs.123.17114.

 

Flores, D. A. (2024). Functional Feeding and The Significance of The Protein Energy Theory for Rumen Digestion: A Comment Paper.
Discoveries in Agriculture and Food Sciences, 12(3). 41-43.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

 

Functional Feeding and The Significance of The Protein Energy

Theory for Rumen Digestion: A Comment Paper

 

D. A. Flores

Skye Blue (SB) Internet 1440 Barberry Drive
Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 1G3 Canada

 

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses a role for peptides or oligosaccharides with microbial cell
protein (MCP) synthesis and their molecular mechanisms: oligomeric chaperoning
of enzymes and/or other proteins with the protein synthetic machinery and
allosteric interactions regarding the type of metabolic process. Further
modifications to improve oligomeric performance as a feed interventive would be
for peptides: longevity, primary structure regards limiting amino acids in microbial
metabolism, possible leader sequences for uptake into the cellular milieu, critical
sequences directly relating to the structural dynamics of chaperoning, and finally
considerations for transcription factors (TF) with mitogenesis for boosting rumen
microbial cell growth and development. Finally, proteinergic strategies, for e. g., the
enrichment of germ seed proteins by seed protein companies jumpstarts the
boosting of rumen microbial protein supply for meat and milk production with this
type of functional feeding for livestock.
Keywords: rumen, digestion, functional feeds, nutritionals, microbial protein, synthesis,
peptides, oligosaccharides

 

INTRODUCTION

The Protein Energy Theory is about the interplay between protein accessibility with microbes
and oligosaccharides (e. g. water-soluble carbohydrates, WSC) and polysaccharides and their
energy dynamics for human microbial digestion.
Recent developments with the theory for rumen digestion involving prebiotic agents to
microbial digestion of peptides/amino acids and oligosaccharides/sugars from proteins and
carbohydrates/water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), respectively, are further elaborated in this
paper since Flores (1991) treated the subject and implicated, 1) cell transport systems for
peptide uptake and, also mentioned, are the well-studied fructans ( a WSC), 2) the contention
that peptides were used more efficiently with an energy dynamic regarding the ATP pool in the
cell, and 3) other factors not covered thus far, as metabolites or nutrients, for e. g., ATP, NADPH,
THF and B12, that can act as mitogens involving cell division for growth and development with
cell division and its microbial protein cell (MCP) synthesis.
These could also occur via cell signaling including cell receptor binding for peptide oligomers
and also saccharide oligomers and the biochemical cascades translating eventually to nuclear
transcription factors (TF) at the cell nucleus with DNA expression.

 

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Discoveries in Agriculture and Food Sciences (DAFS) Vol 12, Issue 3, June- 2024

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

 

CONJECTURES IN THE PROTEIN ENERGY THEORY AND CELL STRUCTURALLY-BASED

MODELING

Described are the following 3 factors described that determine how bioactive ligand action
affects cellular protein-making machinery:
1. There have been offered quantitative approaches as in the a) “random slot” selection
mechanism with modification to make it more likely for the enzyme or protein to assume
conformational function; and b) secondary structural properties describing changes
with non-Markovian diffusion. To elaborate further, on the previous point, one has to
realize that there are two molecular pools or populations between the cell protein
machinery (e. g. enzymes) and the bioactive ligands that combine by cross reaction in
order to assume their enhanced form.
2. Further to this, the mathematics that describes the modeled interactions in chaperoning
for ligand and the protein enzyme, for e. g., can be taken care of by descriptions in
quantitative equational form describing the kinetics, i. e. the equilibrium point(s) and
the rate(s) of processes involving protein and their ligands in the process of cellular
protein synthesis. A dual crossover for peptides and their cellular protein synthetic
enzymes and oligosaccharides for their fibrolytic catabolic enzymes and, on the other
hand, peptides for fibrolytic enzymes and oligosaccharides for cellular protein synthetic
enzymes might be a possible schema with the obverse also true as held by this
stipulation.
3. There is also involved in the Protein Energy Theory the matter of cell membrane
receptor binding and possibly transport-limiting processes entailed between ligand and
receptor and the biochemical cascade that proceeds along two possible routes: a) a
nuclear related action for cell mitogenesis, and b) hastening the cell’s protein synthetic
machinery via ligand binding.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR PROTEIN ENERGY THEORY

The theory with peptides and oligosaccharides suggests in practice the selection, pretreatment

and extraction of seed grains used for ruminant feeds included with high-producing, higher-
quality protein stimulants as functional supplements from peptides that have been designed

for better performance, thus: a) longevity in the rumen milieu including partially protecting
them from exposure to proteases by increasing effectively their half-life; b) calculating which
peptides and their amino acids are most rate-limiting for synthesis based on their amino acid
composition; c) the need to elucidate possible leader sequences that would allow entry into the
microbial cell’s internal milieu; d) finding primary sequences that stimulate microbial protein
synthesis, in some way, including critical tertiary structural considerations, chaperoning the
enzymatic process involved with the cell molecular machinery; and e) mitogenic factors in the
nucleus involved with the transcription process and TFs, involving as was already mentioned
previously for: ATP, NADPH, THF and B12, that have an effect on the growth and development
of cells.

 

CONCLUDING REMARKS

A recent enumeration in the literature brings to our attention other nutritionals which claim
functional properties to animal feeding. Thus, functional amino acids (FAA) (e. g. HIS, ARG, LYS,
LEU), proteins (e. g. alpha-lactoferrin from milk), polysaccharides (e. g. from algae),

 

43
Flores, D. A. (2024). Functional Feeding and The Significance of The Protein Energy Theory for Rumen Digestion: A Comment Paper. Discoveries in
Agriculture and Food Sciences, 12(3). 41-43.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/dafs.123.17114

polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and vitamin D2/D3. Other nutritionals not mentioned here
are: other vitamins and minerals (both micro and macro) and the many other phytoactive
compounds.
It is believed at this time that functional feed ingredients are seen as: refined or extracted
compounds predominantly from plant sources, specialized protein or energy concentrate
supplements, fine chemical/biochemical additives and, as bulk matrices, ‘as is’ or subject to
steam explosions, drying, ensiling, milling and pelleting/extrusion.
Indeed, any current proteinergic approaches are for, e. g., use of enriched germ seed proteins
from purification by seed protein companies for functional feeding is a strategy to supply high
quality proteins with their amino acids from ruminal microbes in livestock in order to
jumpstart the boosting of the animal’s protein nutrition to increase meat and milk output from
production.
Cleantech biofermentation, as it is called, will dictate if there are catalytic amounts of functional
oligomers feeds given or in larger bulk amounts. In some cases, these will be either on a bulk
matrix basis in unprocessed or processed form, or as extracted/enriched for the bioactive
ingredients that are mixed in feed.

 

Declaration of Conflict of Interest
The author declares no conflict of interest involved with this paper.

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to thank with gratitude management and staff and for the premises for his
home-based business without which the preparation of the work on this paper would not have
been made possible.

 

References
D. A. Flores. 1991. Biotechnology and the Improvement of Silage (Tropical and Temperate) Rumen Digestion: a minireview. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 35 (3): 277-282