Swine Nutrition Blackbelt #27 - Benefits from better understanding BCAA transporters in the pig's body by Dr. Woongbi Kwon

Several new research studies have demonstrated the mechanisms behind branched-chain amino acid transporters and nutrient utilization in pigs. Better understanding this concept can be crucial in some diets due to the high leucine content of dried distillers grains. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Woongbi Kwon about his study delving deeper into this topic, feeding elevated levels of leucine and tryptophan to study the effects on growth performance and serotonin metabolism.

Meet the guest: Dr. Woongbi Kwon grew up on his family’s swine farm in South Korea where he attended Konkuk University to receive his B.S. and M.S. in Animal Sciences. He then transferred to the University of Illinois and worked under the guidance of Dr. Hans Stein to earn his Ph.D. in Swine Nutrition under Dr. Hans Stein in 2020. His research focused on branched chain amino acid metabolism and interaction in pigs. He now works as a swine nutritionist for Furst-McNess.