Chromium propionate in broilers: effect on insulin sensitivity

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary chromium (Cr), as chromium propionate, on measures of insulin sensitivity. Liver and muscle glycogen, and plasma glucose and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations were used as indicators of insulin sensitivity. In total, 288 newly hatched male Ross broilers were divided into 4 dietary treatments consisting of 0 (control diet analyzed 0.43 to 0.45 mg Cr/kg), 0.2, 0.4, or 0.6 mg supplemental Cr/kg diet, resulting in 4 treatments with 9 replicate pens per treatment containing eight birds per pen. At d 21, 2 birds per cage were removed based on the greatest deviation from pen mean BW, resulting in each pen containing 6 birds for the final analyses. Final BW were taken on d 40, and on d 42 two birds from each pen were sampled for plasma NEFA, glucose, and muscle and liver glycogen determination at the initiation and termination of a 22 h fast. The remaining 2 fasted birds were sampled after a 30 min refeeding period. No differences were observed in feed intake, BW gain, or feed efficiency on d 21 or d 40. Liver glycogen tended (P=0.10) to be greater in Cr-supplemented chicks in the fed state, and muscle glycogen concentrations tended (P=0.07) to be greater in Cr-supplemented chicks compared with controls following fasting and refeeding. Plasma glucose concentrations were not affected by dietary Cr in the fed, fasted, or refed state. Plasma NEFA levels were not affected by treatment in fed or fasted birds. However, plasma NEFA concentrations were lower (P<0.01) in chicks supplemented with Cr than in controls following fasting and refeeding, suggesting that Cr increased insulin sensitivity. No differences were detected among birds supplemented with 0.2 or 0.4 mg Cr/kg, and among those receiving 0.4 or 0.6 mg Cr/kg. Results of this study indicate that Cr propionate supplementation of a control diet containing 0.43 to 0.45 mg Cr/kg enhanced insulin sensitivity.

Recent advances in role of chromium and its antioxidant combinations in poultry nutrition: A review

“…Metabolism of glucose in birds is considerably different from mammals as blood glucose concentration is much higher in birds and insulin levels are low [1]. Birds as compared to mammals are considered to be less sensitive to insulin [2] and effect of chromium (Cr) to enhance insulin sensitivity in mammals is well documented [3].…”

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Chromium Yeast Alone and in Combination with Antioxidants on Performance of Broilers

“…etabolism of glucose in birds is considerably different from mammals while blood glucose concentration is much higher in birds and insulin levels are low (Brooks et al, 2016). Birds as compared to mammals are considered to be less sensitive to insulin (Scanes, 2009) and effect of chromium to enhance insulin sensitivity in mammals is well documented (Vincent, 2001).…”

Effect of the supplementation of biocomplexed minerals in diets for free-range chickens on performance and carcass characteristics

“…This may have increased the birds' intake of these minerals, preventing the response of supplementation with these minerals in biocomplexed form on performance. A great part of the works in the literature has also not observed the influence of the supplementation with chromium (Perai et al, 2014;Zheng et al, 2016;Brooks et al, 2016;Trivedi et al, 2019) and biocomplexed selenium (Ahmad et al, 2012;Göçmen et al, 2016;Safdari-Rostamabad et al, 2017;Li et al, 2018;Silva et al, 2019) in broiler diets on weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion, regardless of mineral source and inclusion levels.…”