Effect of in ovo feeding of β‐hydroxy‐β‐methylbutyrate on hatchability, muscle growth and performance in prenatal and posthatch broilers

Abstract

BACKGROUND β‐Hydroxy‐β‐methylbutyrate (HMB) is the metabolite of leucine that plays an important role in muscle protein metabolism. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of in ovo feeding (IOF) of HMB at 7 days of incubation (DOI) via air cell or 18 DOI via amnion on hatchability, muscle growth and performance in prenatal and posthatch broilers. RESULTS IOF of HMB via air cell at 7 DOI increased hatchability by 4.34% compared with the control (89.67% versus 85.33%). Birds in IOF groups exhibited higher body weight, average daily body weight gain and pectoral muscle percentage. Furthermore, IOF of HMB significantly increased the level of plasma growth hormone, insulin and insulin‐like growth factor‐1. Chicks hatched from IOF treatment had larger diameters of muscle fiber and higher mitotic activity of satellite cells at early posthatch age. IOF of HMB activated satellite cells by upregulation of mRNA expression of myogenic transcription factors, myogenic differentiation one (MyoD) and myogenin. Chicks hatched from air cell injection group had higher pectoral muscle percentage at 5 d posthatch and greater satellite cell mitotic activity at 7 d posthatch than counterparts from amnion injection group. CONCLUSIONS IOF of HMB via amnion at 18 DOI or especially via air cell at 7 DOI could be used as an effective approach to enhance hatchability, productive performance and breast muscle yield in broilers. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

In ovo feeding of vitamin C regulates splenic development through purine nucleotide metabolism and induction of apoptosis in broiler chickens

“…A previous study reported that the growth-promoting effect of IOF of β-hydroxy-β-methyl butyrate decreased gradually with the increasing age (28) . In contrast, another study had shown that the weight advantage caused by IOF Accepted manuscript could be sustained to D 42 at least (29) . In this study, we found that IOF of vitamin C significantly increased the splenic vitamin C content on D 21, but there was no significant difference on D 42.…”

In ovo Feeding as a Tool for Improving Performance and Gut Health of Poultry: A Review

“…The time of injection is determined by the type of compounds and the desired output to bring in the embryos. As HMB helps in forming the first generation of myoblasts and this formation occurs around 7 ED, injection of HMB into air cell on ED 7 showed more beneficial effect than injection into embryonic amnion on ED 18 ( 29 ).…”

“…A significantly lower level of lipid and CORT indicates adaptation to HS. Dietary supplementation of beta-hydroxy-betamethylbutyrate (HMB), a leucine metabolite, can act as a precursor of beta-hydroxy-betamethylglutaryl coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) and contributes to cholesterol synthesis, which is required for maximal cell functions and cell growth (29,103). It decreases chicken mortality, increases carcass yield, and improves protein metabolism in muscle in case of attenuating proteolysis (104).…”

“…Typically, an air sac is targeted when the injection is made in the early phase of the incubation ( 45 , 85 ). Amnion is targeted to deliver compounds in the amniotic fluid during the later phase of the incubation when the neonatal chicks inside the egg consume the amniotic fluids ( 29 ). The selection of the route depends on the type of biological compounds to be delivered.…”

“…The IOF of HMB in the broiler eggs at ED 7 or ED 18 showed that the exogenous HMB could compensate for the metabolic deficiency of HMB in the embryo ( 29 ). This study showed that IOF of HMB could improve hatchability and increase the broiler's breast muscle size and BW in the post-hatch period.…”