Betaine supplementation vs exercise: effects on glucose, protein, urea,and lipid plasma parameters from Alentejano pigs

Swine, due to their physiologic and anatomical similarities to humans, are considered as good models for cholesterol
metabolism studies. This study was done with Alentejano (AL) pigs, an autochthonous breed from the south of Portugal.
This breed is different from the highly selected lean European breeds, since it presents slower growth rates and higher
lipogenic activity at an early stage of development. In the present study we aimed to investigate the effects of exercise and
of betaine (a methyl donor and an osmoprotectant) supplementation in some plasma parameters of AL pigs

Betaine; Exercise; Cholesterol metabolism; Lipoproteins; Pigs