Ratio of digestible lysine to arginine in Japanese laying quails

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the existence of an interaction between lysine and arginine, and to determine their optimal ratio in the diets of Japanese laying quails. We used 480 quails with an initial mean weight of 180 g at 140 days of age. The quails were distributed in the experimental units in a completely randomized (3 × 2) factorial design, with three levels of digestible lysine (1.083, 1.183, 1.283%) and two levels of digestible arginine (1.472 and 1.580%). There were six treatments, with 10 replicates each, for a total of 60 experimental units. Rations, leftovers, and dead animals were weighed in order to calculate and adjust performance parameters. The variables analyzed were: daily diet consumption (DDC), laying rate (LR), average egg weight (AEW), egg mass (EM), feed conversion per egg mass and dozen eggs (FCEM and FCDE, respectively), weights of yolk, eggshell, and albumen (YW, ESW, and AW, respectively), relative yolk, eggshell, and albumen weights (RYW, RESW, and RAW, respectively), Haugh unit (HU), and marketable egg percentage (ME). There was no interaction (P > 0.05) between the levels of digestible lysine and arginine on the parameters analyzed; independently, these parameters were not affected by lysine and arginine levels. In conclusion, the optimal ratio of lysine and arginine in the diet of laying quails was 1.36: 1.00, which was the lowest used in the present study. Key words: Amino acids. Poultry. Amino acid interaction. ResumoObjetivou-se avaliar a existência de interação aminoacídica entre lisina e arginina, assim como, determinar a melhor relação entre eles em dietas para codornas japonesas em postura. Foram utilizadas 480 codornas com peso médio inicial de 180g aos 140 dias de idade. As codornas foram distribuídas nas unidades experimentais em delineamento inteiramente casualizado esquema fatorial (3x2) no qual foram utilizados três níveis de lisina digestível (1,083; 1,183; 1,283%) e dois níveis de arginina digestível (1,472 e 1,580%). Totalizando seis tratamentos com dez repetições cada, num total de 60 unidades experimentais. As rações, as sobras e os animais mortos foram pesadas a fim de calcular e ajustar os parâmetros de desempenho. As variáveis analisadas foram: consumo de ração diário (CRD), taxa de postura (TP), peso médio dos ovos (PO), massa dos ovos (MO), conversão alimentar por massa de ovos e por dúzia de ovos (CAMO e CADO), pesos da gema, casca e albúmen (PG, PC e PA), pesos relativos da gema, da casca e do albúmen (PRG, PRC e PRA), além da unidade Haugh (UH) e percentual de ovos comercializáveis (OC). Não houve interação (P>0,05) entre os níveis de lisina e arginina digestível sobre os parâmetros em análise, de maneira independente os níveis de lisina e de arginina também não afetaram os parâmetros em análise. Concluiu-se que a melhor relação de lisina e arginina para codornas em fase de postura foi a menor em estudo: 1,36:1,00. Palavras-chave: Aminoácidos. Aves. Interação aminoacídica.

Arginine requirement for egg production in Japanese quail

“…The recommendation of digestible arginine for EO in Japanese quails was 290 mg/bird per d. This value was close to that found by Bülbül et al. (2015) and Maurício et al. (2018) .…”

“…Table 4 shows the mean values of EP based on the experimental levels. The birds reduced EP with the increasing degree of arginine deficiency in the diet, diverging that the absence of response reported in the literature might be partly related to the use of narrow ranges of experimental levels ( Maurício et al., 2016 ; Maurício et al., 2018 ; Tuesta et al., 2018 ) The present study presents the first supportive evidence that a reduction in arginine levels affects EP ( Table 4 ).…”

“…In the present study, analysis of variance ( ANOVA ) was applied between L1 and L8 to verify the statistical significance of the additional responses obtained with L-arginine supplementation. This was investigated due to reports of arginine having no effect on EP ( Maurício et al., 2016 ; Maurício et al., 2018 ; Tuesta et al., 2018 ). Other studies that also used the dilution technique did not use this amount of rigor to validate the limitation of the amino acid test ( Silva et al., 2019 ; Lima et al., 2020 ; Sarcinelli et al., 2020 ) due to the variability in the responses obtained with this degree of nutritional deficiency.…”

“…The reported absence of any effects from arginine ( Maurício et al., 2016 ; Maurício et al., 2018 ; Tuesta et al., 2018 ) does not allow analysis of the responses by the birds after being subjected to different intakes. Moreover, it is not possible to determine the degree of dietary limitation of arginine.…”

“…Eight studies were found on the arginine requirement for Japanese quails in laying phase ( Reis et al., 2012 ; Cavalcante, 2013 ; Santos, 2013 ; Silva, 2014 ; Bülbül et al., 2015 ; Maurício et al., 2016 ; Maurício et al., 2018 ; Tuesta et al., 2018 ) and the arginine requirement ranged from 0.945% to 1.472% or 253 to 377 mg/ bird per day. On the one hand, Ball et al.…”