A Mixture of Exogenous Emulsifiers Increased the Acceptance of Broilers to Low Energy Diets: Growth Performance, Blood Chemistry, and Fatty Acids Traits.

Abstract

Simple SummarySince fat energy is cheaper than carbohydrate energy, it is profitable to increase fat content in broiler diets. One of the factors that limits using high levels of fat in broiler diets is the indigestion of fat, because bile secretion in broilers is not efficient in the first days of age. In this sense, using exogenous emulsifiers in the high-fat diet enhanced fat utilization and digestive metabolism. In the current study, birds fed the basal diet and another two low-energy diets (−50 kcal/kg than control) with or without emulsifiers (500 g/ton). The obtained results revealed that the emulsifier’s supplementation to low-energy diets enhanced fat utilization and resulted in positive effects on growth performance, nutrients utilization, lipid peroxidation, and modified plasma lipid profiles in broilers.To investigate the influence of emulsifiers on broilers fed low-energy diets, the birds were distributed into three sets—the control was fed the basal diet, the second group was fed diets 50 kcal/kg less than control, and the third group was fed diets 50 kcal/kg less than control and supplemented with 500 g/ton of emulsifiers. The used mixture of exogenous emulsifiers contains phosphatidyl choline, lysophosphatidyl choline, and polyethylene glycol ricinoleate. Although the feed intake was not meaningfully affected by dietary low-energy level with emulsifier inclusion (P = 0.42), the weight gain and FCR were clearly enhanced (P = 0.005 and P = 0.044, respectively). Protein and lipids utilization were decreased by reducing energy level, but they were increased by emulsifier supplementation (P = 0.022 and P = 0.011, respectively). Liver thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs) and muscle palmitic acid concentrations were decreased by reducing the energy level and emulsifier’s supplementation (P = 0.014 and P = 0.042, respectively). However, muscle total lipids and α-tocopherol, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and α-linolenic acid were not affected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05). Interestingly, the plasma total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, total protein, and globulin were decreased in the low-energy group without emulsifier but they were increased by emulsifier supplementation (P = 0.008, P = 0.005, P = 0.037, and P = 0.005, respectively). It could be concluded that the mixture of emulsifier supplementation to low-energy diets enhanced fat utilization and resulted in positive effects on the growth performance, nutrient utilization, lipid peroxidation, and modified plasma lipid profiles in broilers. Getting such benefits in broilers is a necessity to reduce the feed cost and consequently the price of the product, which will lead to improved welfare of mankind.