Effects of post-hatch nutrition of arginine, lysine, methionine and threonine on performance and intestinal morphology in broiler chickens

Abstract

To investigate the effects of post-hatch nutrition of arginine, lysine, methionine and threonine on performance and intestinal morphology of broilers, 180 day-old Ross-308 were assigned to 6 treatments. Chickens were provided post-hatch (48 h) feeding of each amino-acid in 4 groups. Chickens in other 2 treated groups received no feed and water (fasting group) or just water (watering group). On day 14, performance parameters were determined, and then all chickens from each treatment were killed. After weighing body organs, the length of segments of small intestine were measured and prepared for evaluation of intestinal morphology. The mean body weight and FCR between watering, fasting, methionine and threonine groups did not differ while they all were greater than lysine fedchickens (P<0.05). In comparison with other groups, the lamina propria thickness of duodenum and ileum were greater in methionine and threonine groups, and in jejunum it was more in methionine group (P<0.05). The sum of measured villus surface area was higher and lower in threonine and lysine groups respectively (P<0.05). In conclusion, among the 4 amino acids, post-hatch feeding of threonine has beneficial effects especially on the growth of intestine. In contrast, lysine has adverse effects on the body performance and intestinal morphology.

Digestible threonine for slow-growing broilers: performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal mucin, and duodenal morphometry

“…The results indicated that 0.628% digestible threonine is optimal for greater villi height. This effect may be due primarily to the direct effect of threonine on the surface area of the intestinal mucosa because threonine has higher activity in mucosal cells than does lysine or methionine (Sadrzadeh et al, 2015). Furthermore, in viscera tissues, which are drained by the portal system, threonine metabolism is higher than that of other essential amino acids (Schaart et al, 2005).…”