Growth and Immunity of Broiler Chicks as Affected by Dietary Arginine

Abstract

A dietary deficiency of Arg may suppress chick immune system functions; however, research evaluating immune function responsiveness of commercial broilers fed dietary Arg levels near NRC (1994) recommendations is sparse. Therefore, three experiments were conducted to evaluate growth and immunity of broilers fed varying Arg levels near NRC (1994) specifications. Because Arg and Lys are similar in structure and are known to compete in intestinal absorption, dietary Lys treatments [near NRC (1994) recommendations] were evaluated to determine if Arg and Lys interact to affect broiler immunity. There were four dietary treatments in Experiment 1 representing a 2 x 2 factorial design of additional Arg (120% of NRC) or additional Lys (120% of NRC) added to a control diet containing 100% of NRC Arg and Lys (six replications per treatment). Experiment 2 contained the following four treatments: the control diet; the control diet plus L-Arg (0.20% Arg of diet); the control diet plus L-Lys HCl (0.20% Lys of diet); and the control diet plus L-Arg-L-Glu (0.10% Arg of diet). Graduations of Arg were fed from 90 to 120% of NRC in 10% increments in Experiment 3. Also, half of the birds were exposed to vaccinations of Newcastle disease virus and infectious bronchitis virus in Experiment 3 to derive a 2 x 4 factorial design. Experiments 1 and 2 were conducted from Days 1 to 18 and Experiment 3 was conducted from Days 1 to 15 in Petersime battery brooders. No interactions occurred between dietary Lys and Arg in Experiment 1. Increasing dietary Arg, but not Lys, from 100 to 120% of the NRC recommendation increased (P < or = 0.05) Day 18 BW gain. Treatment differences in the cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity assay in Experiment 1 did not occur. In Experiment 2, treatment differences in growth responses, lymphoid organ development, and primary antibody titers to SRBC did not occur. Unvaccinated birds in Experiment 3 fed an Arg-deficient diet had lower (P < or = 0.05) feed conversion in comparison with vaccinated birds fed an Arg-deficient diet. Vaccinated birds had lower (P < or = 0.05) Day 15 BW than unvaccinated birds, but higher (P < or = 0.05) titers to Newcastle disease virus. Increasing dietary Arg in Experiment 3 increased plasma Arg (P < or = 0.05), but did not affect plasma Lys. Although increased dietary Arg improved BW gain in Experiment 1, minimal effects were noted in growth and immune system parameters throughtout this study. A dietary Arg level near the NRC (1994) recommendation should support proper immune system functions in healthy chicks.

Improved performance and immunological responses as the result of dietary genistein supplementation of broiler chicks

“…A stop solution was then added to terminate enzymatic process. Plates were read on a Microplate Reader at 650 nm to determine of antibody titers against IBV (Kidd et al, 2001).…”

Effects of Arginine Supplementation on Organ Development, Egg Quality, Serum Biochemical parameters, and Immune Status of Laying Hens

“…Deng et al (2005) found that short-term supplementary arginine had minimal effects on immunity, but some enhancement of SRBC antibody responses in later stages of growth was observed with previous arginine administration. In addition, a study found minimal effects of arginine supplementation on broiler growth and immune parameters (Kidd et al, 2001), possibly because the levels of arginine supplementation were low. On the other hand, the proportion of heterophils in peripheral blood was reduced in broiler chicks fed Argdeficient diets (Jahanian, 2009).…”

Níveis de arginina e lisina digestíveis na dieta de frangos de corte na fase pré-inicial

“…Ao contrário do observado neste experimento, Kidd et al (2001) verificaram que níveis semelhantes aos recomendados pelo NRC (1994) para a fase inicial (1,25%) são suficientes para suportar o bom crescimento e manter normais as funções imunológicas da ave. Neste sentido, Chamruspollert et al (2002a,b) constataram que altos níveis de arginina na dieta inicial (1,52, 2,52 e 3,52%) reduziram o desempenho de frangos de corte de 1 a 14 dias de idade. Esses autores observaram interação tripla arginina × lisina × metionina e interferência no metabolismo da arginase renal e na creatina muscular, o que indica que o equilíbrio entre esses aminoácidos deve ser preservado.…”