Effects of dietary L-carnitine and/or inulin supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits, visceral organs and some blood biochemical parameters in broilers

摘要

This study has been conducted to determine the effects of inulin and/or carnitine dietary supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits (hot carcass weights and yields), visceral organ masses (heart, liver, spleen, gizzard, bursa of Fabriciusand abdominal fat) and blood biochemical parameters (cholesterol, triglyceride and total protein concentrations) in broilers. For that, 80 one day old male Roos-308 broiler chickens were randomly assigned into 4 equal groups according to the supplementation of standard starter (from day 0 to day 21) and finisher (from day 22 to day 42) diets with carnitine (100 mg/kg of food/day), with 1% inulin, or both carnitine and inulin, the last group being not supplemented and serving as controls. Body weights and food intakes were weekly measured allowing determination of body weight gains and food conversion ratios (FCR) calculated weekly or cumulated over a given period. At the end of the 42 day long experimental period, 8 birds in each group were slaughteredin order to determine carcass traits, organ masses and blood biochemical parameters. Although differences between groups were not significant, it was recorded that body weights and body weight gains were slightly depressed in carnitine supplemented birds during the starter period whereas the growth parameters were slightly increased during the 2 periods in inulin supplemented birds and were lowered in the first period than increased in the finishing period in birds treated with the 2 additives. In parallel, the food intakes increased in birds treated with carnitine alone or in combination with inulin during the starter period (P < 0.05, for the first week), leading to a significant alteration of the FCR calculating over this period. No significant variation in organ masses was observed but the hot carcass weight and yield tended to be higher in birds supplemented with carnitine and inulin. Birds treated with inulin alone or associated with carnitine at a lesser extend have exhibited significantly depressed serum cholesterol concentrations compared to birds treated with carnitine alone. These results indicate that dietary supplementation with carnitine and/or inulin does not significantly modify the growth performances and the carcass traits in broilers reared under not stressful environmental conditions.