Effect of arginine and threonine administered in ovo on digestive organ developments and subsequent growth performance of broiler chickens

Abstract

This trial was conducted to investigate the effect of arginine (Arg), threonine (Thr) and Arg + Thr administered in ovo on growth performance, digestive organs and intestinal morphology in broiler chickens. On day 14 of incubation, 400 fertile eggs were randomly allotted to five experimental treatments through injection in the amniotic fluid including: (i) control (none injected), (ii) sham (0.5 ml of 0.5% saline), (iii) Arg (35 mg/egg), (iv) Thr (25 mg/egg) and (v) Arg + Thr (35 + 25 mg/egg). After hatching, chicks were given a commercial corn-soya bean diet up to 42 days of age. Daily feed intake (FI) and body weight (BW) of chicks were measured during different periods of the trial. Digestive organs were measured for their relative weight and intestinal length on days 11 and 42 of age. Intestinal morphometric traits were evaluated on day 11 of the experiment. Supplementing amino acids affected the performance of broiler chicks as Thr significantly increased FI and BW across starter, grower and finisher periods compared with sham and control (p < 0.05). Furthermore, Arg + Thr injection increased jejunal weight compared with control on day 42 (p < 0.05). Moreover, Arg inclusion led to the greatest villus height and crypt depth among treatments in duodenum (p > 0.05); however, amino acid supplemented groups had lower villus height than control in jejunum (p < 0.05). Negative correlations found between digestive organs related to day 11 of age containing pancreas (r = -0.484; p = 0.030), duodenal (r = -0.577; p = 0.007) as well as ileal lengths (r = -0.471; p = 0.035) and FI of entire period. Otherwise, positive relationships were observed between duodenum (r = 0.580; p = 0.007) and ileum (r = 0.582; p = 0.007) weights on day 42 and FI of chickens across the entire phase. In conclusion, Arg and particularly Thr injection into amnion can improve FI and post-hatch growth performance of chickens which may be mediated by the development of digestive organs.

Effects of in ovo feeding of L‐arginine on the development of digestive organs, intestinal function and post‐hatch performance of broiler embryos and hatchlings

“…Results of this study showed that, IOF of Arg solution elevated the development of liver, pancreas, proventriculus and gizzard both in chick embryos and in broilers during the first week post‐hatch as well as the intestine (unpublished data). In agreement with the results of the current work, Tahmasebi and Toghyani () reported that IOF of Arg increased the weights of liver, proventriculus, duodenum and ileum of 11‐day‐old broilers and the weights of gizzard, duodenum and jejunum of 42‐day‐old broilers compared with the non‐injected control. Al‐Daraji et al.…”

“…This was clearly indicated by the increase in YSW not only at 19 days of incubation but also at 1‐ and 3‐day‐old post‐hatch broilers (Table ). Besides, some other authors explained that the increasing of BWG by IOF of Arg might be ascribed to the alleviation AA demand of chicks during embryonic phase, the stimulation of greater protein synthesis and lower protein degradation (Al‐Daraji, Al‐Mashadani, Al‐Hayani, Al‐Hassani, & Mirza, ; Tahmasebi & Toghyani, ).…”

Effect of arginine and threoninein ovosupplementation on immune responses and some serum biochemical attributes in broiler chickens

“…All the eggs were candled on day 14 of embryotic age, the injection points were located and shell surface was disinfected. Four hundred fertile eggs were allotted to 5 treatments of 80 eggs with 4 replicates (20 eggs per replicate) including: control (none injected); sham group (0.5 ml of 0.5% saline); 35 mg Arg (L-arginine, #A5006; Sigma-Aldrich Inc., St. Louis, MO, USA) dissolved in 0.5% saline (0.5 ml/egg); 25 mg Thr (L-Threonine, #T 8625; Sigma-Aldrich Inc., St. Louis, MO, USA) dissolved in 0.5% saline (0.5 ml/ egg); 35 mg Arg þ25 mg Thr dissolved in 0.5% saline (0.5 ml/egg) which was confirmed by the preliminary experiment in (Tahmasebi and Toghyani 2016). Moreover, saline concentration is based on the concentration applied in the work of Uni et al (2005).…”

In ovodelivery of various biological supplements, vaccines and drugs in poultry: current knowledge

“…72 Injection of arginine (35 mg per egg) and threonine (25 mg per egg) and their mixture into amnion improved feed efficiency and post-hatch growth rate of broilers. 62 In ovo feeding of arginine improved the weight of chick embryos at the 19th day of incubation and the weight gain of chicks during the first week of age, as well as the weights of pancreas, liver, gizzard, and proventriculus; arginine also enhanced the levels of glucagon-like peptide 2, duodenal ghrelin, and vasoactive intestinal peptide, in addition to the activities of duodenum mucosal enzymes maltase, alkaline phosphatase, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and sucrase of 7-day-old post-hatch broilers in comparison with control. 45 In ovo injection of glutamine and diamond nanoparticles was beneficial in accelerating the growth and maturation of muscles, especially pectoral muscles and breast muscles in chicken embryo.…”