Performance, Carcass Yield, Muscle Amino Acid Profile, and Levels of Brain Neurotransmitters in Aged Laying Hens Fed Diets Supplemented with Guanidinoacetic Acid.

Omar A Ahmed-Farid,Mahmoud S El-Tarabany,Mohamed Abdo Nassan,Ayman S Salah

doi:10.3390/ani11113091

Abstract

Simple SummaryIn commercial laying hens, aging is associated with a lower egg production rate and the marketing of spent hen carcasses shows some difficulty, probably due to the expected low meat yield. Using these hens as whole carcasses or to produce meat products for large-scale consumption could provide economic benefits to the poultry markets in developing countries. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with guanidinoacetic acid (GA) on the carcass yield and muscle amino acid profile of aged laying hens. Dietary GA supplements were shown to improve the carcass yield and the levels of essential amino acids in the breast and thigh muscles of laying hens.Guanidinoacetic acid (GA) is a natural precursor of creatine in the body and is usually used to improve the feed conversion and cellular energy metabolism of broiler chickens. The objective was to elucidate the effect of dietary supplementation of GA on carcass yield, muscle amino acid profile, and concentrations of brain neurotransmitters in laying hens. In total, 128 72-week-old ISA Brown laying hens were assigned to four equal groups (32 birds, eight replicates per group). The control group (T1) was fed a basal diet with no supplements, while the other experimental groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0.5 (T2), 1.0 (T3), and 1.5 (T4) g GA kg−1 diet. The T3 and T4 groups showed higher hen-day egg production and carcass yield compared to the control group (p = 0.016 and 0.039, respectively). The serum creatine level increased linearly with the increased level of dietary GA (p = 0.007). Among the essential amino acids of breast muscle, a GA-supplemented diet linearly increased the levels of leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, methionine, and threonine in the breast (p = 0.003, 0.047, 0.001, 0.001, and 0.015, respectively) and thigh (p = 0.026, 0.001, 0.020, 0.009, and 0.028, respectively) muscles. GA supplementation linearly reduced the level of brain serotonin compared to the control group (p = 0.010). Furthermore, supplementation of GA in the diet of laying hens linearly increased the level of brain dopamine (p = 0.011), but reduced the level of brain Gamma-aminobutyric acid (p = 0.027). Meanwhile, the concentration of brain nitric oxide did not differ between the experimental groups (p = 0.080). In conclusion, the dietary supplementation of GA may improve the carcass yield and levels of essential amino acids in the breast muscles, as well as the brain neurotransmitters in aged laying hens.

Highlights

Guanidinoacetic acid (GA) is usually synthesized in the liver and kidneys from glycine and arginine [1]
The creatine contents in the body are irreversibly changed to creatinine, a secretory form of creatine, which is usually eliminated in urine [3]
The addition of GA to the diet of poultry may be crucial for providing the normal requirements of creatine and maintaining the optimum growth performance when birds are fed a protein of vegetable origin [4]

Summary

Introduction

Guanidinoacetic acid (GA) is usually synthesized in the liver and kidneys from glycine and arginine [1]. The essential requirements of creatine could be provided by endogenous synthesis or from protein sources in the diet. A major proportion of creatine requirements can be synthesized by endogenous pathways, 25–33% of the total requirement must be supplemented in a bird’s diet. In this context, there is a promising trend to minimize or eliminate animal protein sources in the diet of poultry. The addition of GA to the diet of poultry may be crucial for providing the normal requirements of creatine and maintaining the optimum growth performance when birds are fed a protein of vegetable origin [4]

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