The effects of glyceryl polyethylene glycol ricinoleate on growth performance, fat digestibility, apparent metabolisable energy, serum lipid profile, meat fatty acid content, and caecal microflora in male broiler chickens

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with a glyceryl polyethylene glycol ricinoleate (PEGR) based emulsifier on growth performance, fat digestibility, apparent metabolisable energy, serum lipid profile, meat fatty acid content, and caecal microbial population in broiler chickens. One-day-old male Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly assigned either to a basal diet (control) or the basal diet + 0.50Â g/kg PEGR. On day 35, birds were sampled for the different measurements. Supplementing diets with emulsifier had no significant effect on final body weight of birds but improved (PÂ <Â 0.01) the final feed conversion ratio (FCR) when compared to the control group. The improved FCR was attributed to the higher average metabolisable energy in birds fed with emulsifier supplemented diet. Feeding the birds with the PEGR diet increased the serum levels of total cholesterol (PÂ <Â 0.05) and of the high density lipoprotein cholesterol (PÂ <Â 0.05), but reduced triglyceride and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and significantly elevated n-6:n-3 ratio when compared to the control group. Feeding the birds with PEGR diet resulted in lower caecal E. coli (PÂ <Â 0.001) and Clostridium spp. (P<.05), and higher Lactobacillus spp. counts (PÂ <Â 0.05) than those of the controls. It was concluded that supplementing broiler diets with emulsifier was beneficial in order to improve FCR, serum and meat lipid profile, and to reduce gut microflora in broiler chickens.