ANIMAL NUTRITION

What is a Nutrient?
WEssential substances that your body needs in order
to grow and stay healthy
Nutrients
 Some provide energy.
 All help build cells and tissues, regulate bodily
processes such as breathing.
 No single food supplies all the nutrients the body
needs to function.
Nutritional Requirements food

 Animals are heterotrophs

 need to take in food ATP
 Why? fulfills 3 needs…
 fuel = chemical energy for O2
production of ATP
 raw materials = carbon
source for synthesis of
macromolecules
 essential nutrients = animals
cannot make
o elements (N, P, K, Fe, Na, K, Ca)
Calorie
 a unit of energy that indicates
the amount of energy
contained in food.
 It specifically refers to the
amount of heat energy required
to raise the temperature of 1 kg
(2.2 lb.) of water by 1 oC (1.8 oF)
 The greater the number of
Calories in a quantity of food,
the greater energy it contains
Nutritional Requirements of Animals
 Six Basic Classes
1. Water
2. Carbohydrates
3. Fats
4. Proteins
5. Minerals
6. Vitamins
Nutritional Requirements of Animals (Water)
Nutritional Requirements of Animals
Carbohydrates
 serve as a major energy
source for the cells in the
body
 usually obtained from grains,
cereals, breads, fruits, and
vegetables.
 On average, carbohydrates
contain 4 Calories per gram.
Nutritional Requirements of Animals
Protein
 can also be used as an energy
source
 Main function: building materials for
cell structures and as enzymes,
hormones, parts of muscles, and bones
 proteins come from dairy products,
poultry, fish, meat, and grains
 proteins contain 4 Calories per
gram
Nutritional Requirements of Animals
Fats
 obtained from oils,
margarine, butter, fried
foods, meat, and
processed snack foods
 contain a higher amount
of energy per gram than
carbohydrates or proteins,
about 9 Calories per
gram.
Essential Nutrients
 include substances that animals can only get from the foods
they eat because they could not be synthesized inside the
body.
Essential Nutrients
Essential fatty acids

 used for making

special membrane
lipids;
 an example is linoleic
acid in humans.
Nutritional Requirements of Animals
 Vitamins
 organic molecules required in small amounts for normal
metabolism
 examples include fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E, K, and
water-soluble Vitamins B, B2, B3, B12, C.
Nutritional Requirements of Animals
Trace Elements or Minerals
 inorganic nutrients needed by the body in minute
amounts
 these form part of enzymes, body tissues, and body
fluid
 examples include: iodine, cobalt, zinc, molybdenum,
manganese, selenium.
Food Uptake in Cells
Feeding Mechanism of Animals

filter (suspension) feeding substrate feeding

Feeding Mechanism of Animals

Bulk –
feeding

Fluid – feeding