Abstract
Simple SummaryThe search of alternatives for soybean oil, as a dietary energy source, has generated a lot of interest in broiler feeding due to economic and supply reasons. Soybean lecithin, as a co-product derived from the soybean oil degumming process, and its blending with other by-products derived from the vegetable oil refining process such as acid oils, may represent an alternative energy source for broiler chicken diets formulation. The current study has demonstrated that soybean lecithin high in free fatty acids can be included in grower–finisher diets, as a partial replacer of soybean oil or in combination with an acid oil, without impairing performance or fatty acid digestibility and causing minor changes in the fatty acid composition of the abdominal fat pad.Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the inclusion of soybean lecithin with a high free fatty acid content (L) in starter and grower–finisher broiler diets, as well as its influence on performance, energy and fatty acid (FA) utilization and the FA profile of the abdominal fat pad (AFP). A basal diet was supplemented with soybean oil (S; Experiment 1) or acid oil (AO; Experiment 2) at 3%, and increasing amounts of L (1%, 2% and 3%) were included in replacement. The inclusion of L did not modify performance parameters (p > 0.05). The S replacement by L reduced energy and total FA utilization (p ≤ 0.05) in starter diets; however, in grower–finisher diets, a replacement up to 2% did not modify energy and FA utilization (p > 0.05). The AO substitution by L produced no modifications on energy and FA utilization (p > 0.05) during the starter phase, while the blend of 1% of AO and 2% of L resulted in the best combination in terms of the FA digestibility. The FA profile of the AFP reflected the FA composition of diets. The addition of L could replace, up to 2% or be blended with AO in broiler grower–finisher diets as an energy source.
Highlights
Co-products and by-products derived from the vegetable oil refining process may represent an interesting and economic alternative to conventional fat sources used in broiler feeding, such as soybean oil
The three added fats differed in their average unsaturated-to-saturated fatty acid (FA) ratio (UFA:SFA), where S and Acid oil (AO) presented higher average values (5.14 and 5.60, respectively) than L (3.74); the three fats differed in their average polyunsaturated-to-saturated FA ratio (PUFA:SFA), where
The lowest feed apparent metabolizable energy (AME) value was observed in AO2–L1 (p < 0.001), which was consistent with the FA digestibility
Summary
Co-products and by-products derived from the vegetable oil refining process may represent an interesting and economic alternative to conventional fat sources used in broiler feeding, such as soybean oil. Soybean lecithin has a high viscosity that hampers its inclusion during feed manufacturing. For this reason, in order to facilitate its homogeneous blending in feed, mixing lecithin at different ratios with acid or crude oils is a common practice [7]. Vegetable acid oils derived from the chemical refining process of crude oils are normally composed of a large quantity of free fatty acids (FFA; 40%–60%) and represent an important source of energy [8,9]. It has been observed that a high dietary FFA concentration may reduce energy utilization by impairing dietary fat solubilization in the gastrointestinal tract [5]
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