Effects of xylanase and citric acid on the performance, nutrient retention, and characteristics of gastrointestinal tract of broilers fed low-phosphorus wheat-based diets

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of xylanase and citric acid on the performance, nutrient retention, jejunal viscosity, and size and pH of the gastrointestinal tract of broilers fed a low-P wheat-based diet. The experiment was conducted as a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with 2 levels of xylanase (0 and 200 mg/kg) and 3 levels of citric acid (0, 20, and 40 g/kg). Each of the 6 dietary treatments was fed to 4 replicate pens (17 birds/pen) from 0 to 24 d of age. Chromium oxide (3 g/kg) was added to the diets as an indigestible marker to determine the apparent nutrient retention. No interaction effect was observed between xylanase and citric acid in any measured response. Xylanase did not affect feed intake but significantly increased BW gain by 3.6% (P < 0.05) from 1 to 24 d of age and improved G:F by 3.9% (P < 0.01). The inclusion of 40 g/kg of citric acid decreased (P < 0.01) BW gain and feed intake by 8.6 and 12.5%, respectively. The inclusion of 20 and 40 g/kg of citric acid improved G:F by 2.3 and 4.5% (P < 0.05), respectively. Xylanase significantly decreased the viscosity of digesta and improved the retention of DM, CP, and energy, but did not have a significant effect on the retention of fat and P. Inclusion of 20 and 40 g/kg of citric acid in the diets increased P retention by 15.8 and 16.3% (P < 0.01), respectively. Citric acid significantly decreased the pH of crop contents (P < 0.05). In conclusion, citric acid, at the 40 g/kg inclusion level, reduced feed intake and BW gain but improved G:F and P retention. Xylanase decreased digesta viscosity, increased nutrient retention, and consequently improved the performance of broilers fed the low-P wheat-based diet. Thus, adding 20 g/kg of citric acid, especially in the starter period, and 200 mg/kg of xylanase to low-P wheat-based diets can be helpful.

Effects of dietary propionic acid, sodium citrate, and phytase on growth performance, mineral digestibility, and tibia properties in broilers

“…Brenes et al (2003) reported that addition of phytase and citric acid to LAPD (0.25% available P) increased retention of P in broiler chickens. Esmaeilipour et al (2011) also observed higher retention of P in broilers fed with LAPD (0.27% available P) supplemented with citric acid. Sodium citrate has not similar effect on pH as citric acid (Skoog et al 2004) but it has been proposed that sodium citrate is more powerful chelator of Ca than phytate.…”

“…Esmaeilipour et al (2011) observed that citric acid supplementation to wheat-soybean meal-based diet (low in P) increases the P retention in broilers. The mechanism of increased phytate-P utilization by citric acid is not well known yet in chicks (Rafacz-Livingston et al 2005).…”

Effect of different levels of organic acids in the diets of hens on laying performance, egg quality criteria, blood parameters, and intestinal histomorphology

“…Other researchers reported that butyric acid did not depress the FI, whereas the FI was depressed by propionate acid (Leeson et al, 2005). High levels of OAs added to the diets of laying hens also reduced the FI (Dibner and Buttin 2002;Esmaeilipour et al, 2011). They may exert this effect on laying hens by changing the palatability of the food.…”

Dietary organic acids for broiler chickens: a review

“…Previous experiments have reported that dietary organic acids can increase phosphorus utilization in corn-soybean meal diets fed to broiler chickens (Boling et al ., 2000;Esmaeilipour et al ., 2011). Phosphorus utilization may be increased due to the chelating properties of organic acids with calcium, which can result in increased phytate-phosphorus solubility, increasing their ability to be hydrolyzed (Centeno et al ., 2007).…”

“…It is postulated that excessive amounts of dietary citric acid inclusion may compromise performance because two experiments using 60 g/kg citric acid in diets reported significant decreases in body weight gain. (Patten and Waldroup, 1988;Alçiçek et al, 2004;Leeson et al, 2005;Gunal et al, 2006;Hernández et al, 2006;García et al, 2007;Paul et al, 2007;Biggs and Parsons, 2008;Pirgozliev et al, 2008;Samanta et al, 2008;Al-Kassi and Mohssen, 2009;Ao et al, 2009;Bozkurt et al, 2009;Chowdhury et al, 2009;Kim et al, 2009;Mahdavi and Torki 2009;Panda et al, 2009a,b;Haque et al, 2010;Nourmohammadi et al, 2010;Smulikowska et al, 2010;Esmaeilipour et al, 2011;SalgadoTránsito et al, 2011;Aghazadeh and Tahayazdi, 2012;Nourmohammadi et al, 2012;Świątkiewicz and Arczewska-Wlosek, 2012). 2 Detailed information for each organic acid was provided in the Tables 5 through 9.…”