The β3-adrenergic agonist (BRL35135A) improves feed efficiency and decreases visceral but not subcutaneous fat in lambs

Abstract

There is evidence that an atypical adrenoreceptor subtype is involved in mediating some of the physiological effects of catecholamines, particularly in some adipose tissue sites. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the effect of the β3-agonist BRL35135A on growth performance and body composition in ruminant lambs. Twenty-two second cross wether lambs (32.5±0.7kg) were individually-housed in pens and randomly allocated on the basis of stratified live weights to two treatments (n=11 per treatment). The control group were offered barley (20%) and lucerne chaff (80%) ad libitum and the treated group were given the BRL35135A (1mg/30kg live weight) with the feed. Feed refusals were recor..