liver gluconeogenesis (Lehninger et al., 1993), whereas
betaine may provide a source of ruminally available N
or methyl groups to the rumen microbial population
(Lo ¨est et al., 2002). Therefore, the administration of
osmolytes before transportation of long duration may
have merit in attenuating the deleterious effects of dehydration and promote glucose production while sparing muscle protein degradation.