Efficacy of Herbal Lysine Supplementation on Broiler Performance

doi: 10.5958/2231-6744.2016.00078.5 Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition Efficacy of Herbal Lysine Supplementation on Broiler Performance C. Kathirvelan *, M.R. Purushothaman, S.R. Janani and S. Banupriya Department of Animal Nutrition, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Namakkal-637002, Tamil Nadu, India ABSTRACT A trial was conducted for a period of 42 days to assess the comparative efficacy of the herbal and synthetic lysine on the performance of broilers. A total of 160 day old Vencobb broiler male chicks were divided into five groups each group having four replicates of eight birds. The birds in group T 1 were fed standard ration without herbal and synthetic source (Control), T 2 (25% herbal lysine: 75% synthetic lysine, T 3 (50% herbal lysine: 50% synthetic lysine), T 4 (75% herbal lysine: 25% synthetic lysine) and T 5 (100% herbal lysine). The higher weight gain (2135±48) and better feed efficiency (1.734±0.059) was found in T 3 when compared to control and other treatment groups. Dressing percentage, heart, liver, kidney, gizzard weight, abdominal fat and intestinal length did not vary among the groups. Albumin, albumin: globulin ratio, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, AST and ALT status of the birds were comparable with the control. The liver and breast muscle lipid content was lower in treatment T 2 as compared to control (T 1 ) whereas in thigh, it was high. Supplementation of herbal and synthetic lysine at 50: 50 was found to provide better returns (` 2.12 per kg) over that of control. Therefore, it could be concluded that supplementation of herbal and synthetic lysine (50: 50) in broiler diet improved the performance of birds and reduced the feed cost per unit weight gain. Key words: Growth performance, Herbal lysine, Liver and muscle lipid profile, Serum biochemistry, Synthetic lysine INTRODUCTION A profitable poultry production depends largely on feed utilization, faster body weight, absence of disease and low mortality. Poultry nutrition has improved a lot in past few decades. In spite of advances made on the nutritional aspects, many nutritional problems are still unsolved and pose as a challenge to investigators in this field. Genetic potentiality of broiler chicken is increasing day-by-day, hence, reassessment of nutrient requirements is essential to bridge the gap between the genetic improvement and nutritional requirements (Buteri, 2003). Amino acids are the basic constituents of living organisms because they are building blocks of proteins and their proper balance in the diet is required to maintain protein quality, growth rate and carcass composition and thus receiving a considerable attention in feed industry (Baker, 2009). The supplementation of broiler feeds with amino acids is very common in the poultry industry. It is more economical to add lysine than more soybean meal or other natural protein source to meet the requirement. Lysine, an indispensable amino acid, must be supplied in the diet of the chicken as the * Corresponding author: E-mail: kadhirc@gmail.com poultry birds are unable to synthesize it in the amounts necessary to sustain life and growth. Lysine assists in the absorption of calcium, antibodies production, hormones and enzymes activity (Florini et al. 1996). Lysine and vitamin C together form carnitine which enables muscle tissue to utilize oxygen more efficiently. Deficiency of lysine causes depigmentation in birds, reduced hemoglobin and hematocrit in chicken. The rise in demand for cheap meat has given rise to the use of synthetic compounds in animal feeds. The present study was conducted to ascertain the efficacy of herbal and synthetic lysine supplementation on broiler performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS A biological trial was conducted with 160 day old Vencobb broiler male chicks. The broiler chicks were divided into five treatment groups; each group had four replicates with eight birds in each replicate. The treatment groups were T 1 (standard ration), T 2 (25% herbal lysine + 75% synthetic lysine, T 3 (50% herbal lysine + 50% synthetic lysine), T 4 (75 % herbal lysine + 25% synthetic lysine) and T 5 (100% herbal lysine). All the diets were formulated to be isocaloric and 442

Kathirvelan et al. isonitrogenous. The diets were analyzed for proximate principles (AOAC, 1995). The birds were fed the pre starter, starter and finisher diets for 1 to 14, 15 to 28 and 29 to 42 days of age, respectively. The birds were housed in deep litter pens using coconut coir pith as litter material and reared from day-old to 42 days of age following standard management practices. Feed and water were provided ad-lib. All the birds were vaccinated against Ranikhet disease on 7 th d and IBD on 14 th d of age. The feed offered and mortality, was recorded daily. Biweekly feed intakes, body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency were recorded. At the end of the experimental period of 42 days, six birds from each treatment were slaughtered to know carcass, liver, heart, kidney, gizzard weight and intestinal length were Table 1. Ingredient (%) and proximate composition of the pre starter, starter and finisher rations Item Pre-starter Starter Finisher Ingredient composition (%) Maize 55.1 56.3 61.8 Soybean meal 39.5 37.2 30.7 Salt 0.29 0.3 0.3 Rice Bran Oil 1.8 3.1 4.2 Calcite powder 1.7 1.7 1.67 Di-calcium phosphate 1 0.9 0.9 Additives (%) NSP degrading enzyme 0.05 0.05 0.05 Phytase 0.02 0.02 0.02 DL-methionine 0.26 0.27 0.24 Threonine 0.012 0.023 0.034 Sodium bicarbonate 0.144 0.066 0.051 Trace mineral mixture 0.2 0.2 0.2 Toxin binder 0.05 0.05 0.05 Vitamin premix 0.1 0.1 0.1 Salinomycin 0.05 0.05 0.05 Anti-oxidant 0.01 0.01 0.01 Vitamin E 50 % 0.01 0.008 0.005 Emulsifier 0.05 0.05 0.05 Liver tonic 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total 100 100 100 Proximate composition (% DM basis) and ME content Dry matter 91.3 90.93 91.74 Crude protein 22.49 21.51 19.45 Crude fibre 3.54 3.26 3.14 Ether extract 4.25 5.42 6.95 Total ash 7.91 7.75 7.62 Nitrogen free extract 53.11 52.99 54.58 Metabolisable energy (kcal/kg) * 3,000 3,100 3,200 Lysine * 0.158 0.162 0.177 * Calculated 443

Lysine supplementation (herbal) and broiler performance measured. The liver, thigh and breast muscle lipid content were estimated (Folch et al., 1957) and total cholesterol was estimated by one-step method of Wybenga et al. (1970). The serum biochemical parameters such as total protein (Biuret method), albumin, globulin (serum globulin was taken as difference between total protein and albumin); total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL (Friedewald equation), the activity of enzymes like alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were estimated by diagnostic kits using standard protocols. The cost of different experimental rations was worked out based on the actual cost of the feed ingredients, supplements and additives. The cost of feed per unit gain in weight in different groups was calculated. The data were statistically analyzed (Snedecor and Cochran, 1989) and the means of different experimental groups were tested for statistical significance. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The data on the chemical composition of diets has been given in Table 1. Weight gain (g), feed intake (g), feed efficiency, livability (%), PEF and feed cost/ Table 2. Body weight gain, feed intake, feed efficiency, livability, PEF and feed cost/weight gain (`) of birds fed with herbal and synthetic lysine Attribute Treatment T 1 T 2 T 3 T 4 T 5 Body weight gain (g) Pre starter (0-14 d) 312 b ±60 298 ab ±80 304 b ±70 295 ab ±90 278 a ±70 Starter (15-28 d) 784±18 784±20 768±20 788±19 772±21 Finisher (29-42 d) 994±24 1028±27 1062±30 1017±30 1031±46 Overall (0-42 d) 2090±34 2111±47 2135±48 2100±46 2082±56 Feed intake (g) Pre starter (0-14 d) 434±40 462±70 462±13 475±11 458±60 Starter (15-28 d) 1439±23 1403±36 1396±25 1403±11 1421±70 Finisher (29-42 d) 1895±56 1790±31 1829±21 1880±62 1760±57 Overall (0-42 d) 3768±54 3656±56 3688±36 3759±40 3640±50 Feed conversion ratio (FCR) Pre starter (0-14 d) 1.40±0.15 1.55±0.05 1.52±0.02 1.62±0.12 1.64±0.03 Starter (15-28 d) 1.83±0.04 1.79±0.02 1.82±0.05 1.77±0.01 1.84±0.02 Finisher (29-42 d) 1.90±0.07 1.74±0.07 1.73±0.08 1.84±0.06 1.73±0.08 Overall (0-42 d) 1.80±0.02 1.73±0.04 1.73±0.05 1.79±0.03 1.75±0.04 Overall livability (%) 97 100 100 97 97 Cost of pre starter feed 30.58 30.53 30.49 30.45 30.41 Cost of starter feed 28.75 28.71 28.67 28.64 28.60 Cost of finisher feed 28.15 28.11 28.08 28.04 28.00 Economics (`) Cost of feeding (0-6 weeks) 108.00±1.53 104.74±1.61 105.52±1.05 107.40±1.09 103.88±1.39 Cost of feed/kg weight gain 51.72±0.67 49.73±1.24 49.60±1.67 51.18±0.85 50.04±1.28 Difference in feed cost 1.99 2.20 0.54 1.64 over the control a,b Values bearing different superscript in a column differ significantly (P<0.05) 444

Kathirvelan et al. weight gain of birds fed different levels of herbal and synthetic lysine have been presented in Table 2. Weight gain in the pre starter and starter period, feeding of herbal and synthetic lysine at various levels had comparable weight gain whereas in finisher phase, the weight gain was higher in all lysine supplemented groups than the control, however, in overall phase, 50% herbal and 50% synthetic lysine supplemented group had numerically higher body weight than the respective treatment groups and control. Findings of present study on feed inate, weight gain and feed efficiency were similar to earlier studies (Chattopadhyay et al., 2006: Kalbande et al., 2009). This might be due to effect of balanced amino acids in treatment group for protein synthesis which resulted in increased weight gain. Feed intake in the pre starter and finisher phase was comparable with control. However, in finisher and overall phase, feed intake was lower in treatment T 2 and T 5 when compared with control. Similar results were also reported by Chattopadhyay et al. (2006) and Kalbande et al. (2009). The feed conversion efficiency was better in control than in treatment groups in pre starter phase whereas in starter phase, better feed efficiency was found in 25: 75 lysine supplemented groups. In finisher and overall phase, feed efficiency was good in 25, 50 and 100% herbal lysine groups when compared to control. This result collaborates with previous findings of Khanduri et al. (2013). The efficiency of feed utilization for monogastric animals is influenced by the levels of lysine and methionine in the diet (NRC, 1994). The feed cost to produce one kg live weight was lower in all treatment groups when compared to control (` 51.72). The better returns were found in lysine supplemented groups (T 2, T 3, T 4 and T 5 ) over the control. Lysine at 50% herbal + 50% synthetic (T 3 ) combination had the highest additional returns of ` 2.12 per kg live weight followed by T 2 (` 1.99) and T 5 (` 1.64) over the control. The various carcass traits (Table 3) namely dressing percentage, heart weight, liver weight, kidney weight, gizzard weight and intestinal length of birds fed Table 4. Serum biochemical parameters and lipid profile (liver and muscle) of birds fed with herbal and synthetic lysine Attribute Treatment T 1 T 2 T 3 T 4 T 5 Serum biochemical parameters Albumin (mg/dl) 1.87±0.03 1.55±0.17 1.72±0.01 1.57±0.05 1.79±0.03 Globulin (mg/dl) 1.37±0.14 1.47±0.03 1.53±0.14 1.83±0.48 1.62±0.10 Albumin Globulin ratio 1.39±0.12 1.06±0.14 1.14±0.09 0.98±0.24 1.11±0.05 Total protein (mg/dl) 3.23±0.16 3.02±0.14 3.25±0.16 3.41±0.14 3.24±0.21 Total cholesterol (mg/dl) 128.35±1.65 143.01±11.04 136.16±11.35 141.23±4.03 156.01±7.69 Triglycerides (mg/dl) 130.71±3.06 126.18±0.97 123.08±6.63 125.34±1.40 124.87±3.32 HDL (mg/dl) 73.43±10.08 89.92±6.47 81.48±2.13 93.69±5.89 78.57±9.57 LDL (mg/dl) 28.78±8.93 27.85±6.18 30.07±10.13 22.47±6.14 52.47±17.40 ALT (U/L) 18.38±0.04 18.27±0.05 17.02±0.43 12.65±3.06 20.51±3.06 AST (U/L) 146.66±5.25 150.59±20.57 107.37±10.50 106.50±7.88 109.12±7.00 Liver and muscle lipid profile Liver (mg/100g) 262.76±8.61 239.32±9.66 269.01±12.79 287.5±16.71 266.14±1.04 Breast muscle (mg/100g) 208.33±1.56 182.29±4.17 192.18±10.97 200.00±7.31 193.22±8.88 Thigh muscle (mg/100g) 159.63 a ±0.78 195.83 b ±0.52 230.46 d ±1.82 216.14 cd ±4.17 213.80 c ±1.30 a,b,c,d Values bearing different superscript in a column differ significantly (P<0.05) 445

Lysine supplementation (herbal) and broiler performance Table 3. The carcass traits of birds fed with herbal and synthetic lysine Attribute Treatment T 1 T 2 T 3 T 4 T 5 Dressing percentage (%) 79.26±0.79 77.82±1.25 78.73±0.73 79.32±1.12 78.48±1.42 Heart weight (%) 0.48±0.03 0.51±0.03 0.46±0.02 0.52±0.04 0.44±0.03 Liver weight (%) 1.98±0.10 1.81±0.08 1.78±0.04 1.75±0.04 1.81±0.09 Kidney weight (%) 0.46±0.04 0.39±0.05 0.37±0.02 0.43±0.04 0.39±0.05 Gizzard weight (%) 1.91±0.08 1.93±0.19 1.89±0.10 1.83±0.05 1.83±0.99 Body fat (%) 0.95±0.08 0.81±0.05 0.84±0.05 0.84±0.02 0.82±0.06 Intestinal length (cm) 189.66±6.07 176.5±5.3 177.5±7.9 184.66±4.23 195.66±3.02 with different levels of herbal and synthetic lysine was comparable and not influenced by the inclusion of herbal and synthetic lysine (Kalbande et al., 2009). Inclusion of herbal lysine did not affect plasma albumin, globulin, albumin and globulin ratio, total protein and ALT activity (Table 4). However, the values of AST were lower in treatments T 3, T 4 and T 5 when compared with control. The values of total protein, albumin, globulin, AST and ALT (Prabhakaran et al., 1996) were observed within the normal range reported for chickens. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL levels were not influenced due to the addition of herbal and synthetic lysine (Table 4). However, earlier studies reported that serum cholesterol, triglycerides, ALT and AST values were reduced when diets supplemented with lysine (Khanduri et al., 2013; Kalbande et al., 2009 and Halder and Roy, 2007). The breast lipid content was lowered in all treatment groups when compared with control (T 1 ) whereas in thigh, higher lipid content was recorded. Supplementation of lysine in broiler rations elevate protein concentration in liver and lowering the liver lipid content which have beneficial effects to the birds. This finding indicated that supplementation of herbal lysine facilitated efficient lipid metabolism in the liver and its transportation to body tissues and consequently, it may reduce the incidence of fatty liver in birds (Khanduri et al., 2013). CONCLUSION It could be concluded that supplementation of 446 lysine at an inclusion level of 50% herbal plus 50% synthetic combination was found to improve the performance of birds and reduced the feed cost per unit weight gain. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors are grateful to the Dean, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal and Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai for providing the necessary facilities for carrying out this research work. We greatly acknowledge the financial assistance from Indian Herbs, Panchkula for carrying out this research work. REFERENCES AOAC. 1995. Official Methods of Analysis. 15 th edn. Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Washington. D.C., USA. Baker, D.H. 2009. Advances in protein-amino acid nutrition of poultry. Amino acids. 37: 29-41. Buteri, C.B. 2003. Effects of Different Nutritional Plans on the Composition and Performance Productive and Economical Broiler. Ph.D. Thesis submitted to Federal University of Viscosa, Brazil. Chattopadhyay, K., Mondal, M. K. and Roy, B. 2006. Comparative efficacy of DL-methionine and herbal methionine on performance of broiler chicken. Int. J. Poult. Sci. 5: 1034-1039. Folch, J., Less, M. and Stanley, S.G.H. 1957. A simple method for the isolation and purification of total lipids from animal tissue. J. Biol. Chem. 226: 497-509. Florini, J.R., Euton, D.Z and Coolican, S.A. 1996. Growth hormone and the insulin like growth factor system in myogenesis. Endocr. Rev. 17: 481-517. Halder, G. and Roy, B. 2007. Effect of herbal or synthetic methionine on performance, cost benefit ratio, meat

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