Abstract
This study evaluated the metabolic response of broilers fed diets containing increasing crude glycerine levels in two bioassays. Birds were house in metabolic cages, and were distributed according to a completely randomized experimental design with five treatments of 4 replicates each (1st assay: 5 birds/ cage; 2nd assay: 1-20 days = 8 birds/ cage, and 21-42 days = 4 birds/cage). Treatments consisted of a control diet based on corn and soybean meal, and four other diets containing 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10.0% glycerine derived from biodiesel. In experiment I, there was no effect (p>0.05) of glycerol level on liver weight or blood parameters. Serum blood glycerol levels of the birds fed 10% crude glycerine increased during the first nine days of diet intake (p<0.05). In experiment II, water intake increased (p<0.05) in the birds fed 7.5 and 10.0% crude glycerine at 4 and 8 days of age. Feed intake increased (p<0.05) on days 8 and 12 in birds fed 2.5 and 7.5% glycerine. Fecal moisture increased (p<0.05) in birds fed diets with 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0% crude glycerine on days 16 and 20. Ileal content moisture was not different (p>0.05) among treatments when birds were 42 days old. High dietary glycerine levels may induce metabolic change in broilers, such as increased blood glycerol level, water intake and fecal moisture.
Highlights
Poultry production is the animal industry segment that most developed in the last few decades, because it is very competitive relative to the other industries (Belusso & Hespanhol, 2010)
There was an effect of the interaction (p
Birds fed up to 7.5% crude glycerine were capable of metabolizing glycerol easier than those fed 10%, which is consistent with findings of Gianfelici (2009)
Summary
Poultry production is the animal industry segment that most developed in the last few decades, because it is very competitive relative to the other industries (Belusso & Hespanhol, 2010). Poultry nutrition researchers have looked for alternatives to formulate increasingly efficient and economical diets, as feed cost accounts for approximately 70% of total production costs. In addition to agricultural research, several studies have been carried out on the use of renewable energy sources, biodiesel. With the increasing production of biodiesel, a potential new energy feedstuff is available: crude glycerine, a byproduct of biodiesel production (Peres et al, 2005). The use of byproducts in livestock feeds may reduce production costs and increase profitability. Glycerine can partially replace corn in animal feeds (Cerrate et al, 2006) as it is energy-rich (4.320 kcal gross energy per kg for pure glycerol) and efficiently metabolized by animals
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