Glucose Tolerance and Insulin Response to Intravenous Glucose Load in Sheep Fed on Germinated Sorghum Grain

The glucose tolerance and pancreatic insulin secretion response to glucose in sheep fed on germinated sorghum grain were determined using an intravenous glucose load. Twelve male Thin Tail sheep (an Indonesian native sheep, 12 months old and 14.8 kg average body weight) were divided randomly into sorghum grain-based (S), germinated sorghum grain-based (G) and maize grain-based (C) diets. Sheep were maintained at the same daily intake levels of metabolizable energy and crude protein in the diets throughout the experimental period. After two months of the experimental conditions, each diet group was subjected to an intravenous glucose load experiment in which five doses of glucose (0, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg BW) were injected to estimate the rate of glucose removal from blood and the pancreatic insulin secretion response. For each sheep and each glucose load dose, the incremental blood serum glucose and insulin concentrations above pre-injection concentration were calculated as serum glucose and insulin response areas. At all glucose doses, sheep fed on S diet had a greater (p<0.05) glucose response area compared to those of sheep fed on G and C diets. Likewise at all glucose doses, the insulin response area was smaller (p<0.05) in sheep fed on S diet than in sheep fed on G and C diets. The glucose and insulin response areas in sheep fed on G and C diets differed slightly. It was concluded that the portion of maize grain in the ruminant ration could be substituted by germinated sorghum grain.