Abstract
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin D3 metabolites 1α-hydroxycholecalciferol (1α(OH)D3), 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)2D3), and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2D3) on growth performance, bone quality, and intestinal calcium homeostasis-related gene expression in broiler chickens. One-day-old broilers were fed a basal diet and basal diet containing different vitamin D3 metabolites. The body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio in control and experimental broilers were measured to assess the growth performance, mineral levels, and bone breaking strength. The duodenum [...]
Highlights
Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is an extremely common skeletal abnormality associated with rapid growth rate in broiler chickens (Leach and Lilburn, 1992)
The results demonstrated that vitamin D3 metabolites significantly upregulated calcium homeostasis-related genes, including calbindin, β-glucuronidase, TRPV6, and Na/Pi IIb cotransporter, mRNA levels after 12 h of feeding
Dietary vitamin D3 metabolites may alleviate the development of TD in broiler chickens and these effects probably occur through regulation of intestinal calcium homeostasis-related gene expression
Summary
Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is an extremely common skeletal abnormality associated with rapid growth rate in broiler chickens (Leach and Lilburn, 1992). It leads to enormous economic losses worldwide and to animal welfare problems (Pines et al, 2005). Nutrition plays a major role in the development and maintenance of bone structure, such as calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D (Fleming, 2008). Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) has been widely used as a feed additive to improve calcium and phosphorus metabolism and bone development in poultry (Baker et al., 1998). It has been demonstrated that supplementation of vitamin D metabolites could efficiently prevent TD in broiler chickens (Edwards, 1990; Roberson and Edwards, 1996; Whitehead et al, 2004)
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