Abstract
The short-chain fatty acid butyrate, either in unprotected or protected form, is widely applied as a growth-promoting feed additive in poultry nutrition; however, its possible effects on the carcass composition of broilers have not been fully elucidated. Further, lowering dietary crude protein (CP) levels is an important issue in poultry farming, contributing to ecologically beneficial lower nitrogen excretion. The main aims of this study were to test how unprotected and protected forms of butyrate and decreased dietary CP content with essential amino acid (lysine, methionine, threonine, tryptophan) supplementation (“LP-EAA” diet) affect carcass parameters and the chemical composition of muscles in broilers. Ross 308 chickens were randomized to seven groups (/group) receiving adequate CP-containing (normal protein, “NP”) or LP-EAA diets, both supplemented with or without unprotected sodium butyrate, and NP diets with different forms of protected sodium butyrate. Carcass traits were measured, and the chemical composition of pectoral and femoral muscles was analyzed at the age of 6 weeks. Carcass weight was significantly increased by the LP-EAA diet and all protected butyrate types tested, while the relative breast meat yield was significantly higher in LP-EAA than NP groups and in both unprotected and protected butyrate-supplemented chickens compared to controls. The protein content of the femoral muscle was significantly decreased, but its lipid content was significantly elevated by the LP-EAA diet and by all types of butyrate addition. However, no changes were detected in the chemical composition of pectoral muscle. In conclusion, breast meat production can be effectively stimulated by dietary factors, such as by reducing dietary CP content with essential amino acid supplementation and by applying butyrate as a feed additive, while its chemical composition remains unchanged, in contrast to the femoral muscle. The aforementioned nutritional strategies seem to be the proper tools to increase carcass yield and to alter meat composition of broilers, contributing to more efficient poultry meat production.
Highlights
The production of healthy meat is an increasingly important issue worldwide to fulfill the demands of the constantly growing human population
Carcass weight was significantly increased by the low-protein diet supplemented with essential amino acid (LP-EAA) diet and all protected butyrate types tested, while the relative breast meat yield was significantly higher in LP-EAA than NP groups and in both unprotected and protected butyrate-supplemented chickens compared to controls
Carcass weight (Fig. 1a) was significantly increased by the low-protein diet with essential amino acid supplementation: significantly higher values were measured in the LPEAA CTR group than in NP CTR animals (P < 0.001) and in the LP-EAA SB than in the NP SB group (P = 0.005)
Summary
The production of healthy meat is an increasingly important issue worldwide to fulfill the demands of the constantly growing human population. Animal welfare and economic aspects should be addressed when improving productivity in poultry farming Nutritional changes, such as altering nutrient composition or applying feed additives may provide great tools for enhancing meat quality and production efficiency. Applied butyrate can influence small intestinal micromorphology leading to a more efficient nutrient absorption, and positively influence the eubiotic intestinal microflora, increase the gut barrier function and the development of gut-associated lymphoid tissue (Hu and Guo, 2007) Beside these intestinal effects, butyrate as an epigenetically active molecule can cause histone hyperacetylation, described in the liver of chickens after oral butyrate ingestion (Mátis et al, 2013), modulating the expression of certain genes and possibly leading to metabolic alterations. Butyrate can affect insulin homeostasis, modifying the abundance of key insulin signaling proteins in a tissue-dependent manner (Mátis et al, 2015; Kulcsár et al, 2016)
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