Supplementation of guanidinoacetic acid to broiler diets: Effects on performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and energy metabolism

Abstract

Creatine, (CREA) a central constituent in energy metabolism, is obtained from dietary animal protein or de novo synthesis from guanidinoacetic acid (GAA). Especially in all-vegetable diets, supplemental CREA or GAA may restore the CREA availability in tissues, and hence, improve performance. In this study, 768 one-d-old male Ross 308 broilers were assigned to 1 of 4 diets: negative control, all-vegetable corn-soybean-based; negative control supplemented with either 0.6 or 1.2 g of GAA per kilogram of feed; and positive control (60, 30, and 30 g/kg of fish meal in the starter, grower, and finisher diets, respectively). Each treatment was replicated in 6 pens of 32 birds each. At the end of the grower period (d 26), 2 birds per pen were euthanized for metabolic measurements. Four broilers per pen were selected at slaughter age (d 39) to determine carcass characteristics and meat quality. Compared with the negative control, GAA supplementation resulted in an improved gain:feed ratio (P < 0.05) and ADG (P < 0.05; + 2.7 and + 2.2% for GAA at 0.6 and 1.2 g/kg, respectively) throughout the entire period. Breast meat yield was higher for the GAA diets compared with that of the negative control birds (P < 0.05; 30.6 vs. 29.4%) and was comparable with that of the positive control birds (30.2%). With regard to meat quality, lower ultimate pH values, higher cooking and press fluid losses, and higher color L* values were observed for the GAA diets compared with those of the negative control diet (P < 0.05). These effects were small, however. The GAA and CREA levels in breast meat were lower and higher, respectively, in GAA-fed birds compared with those of the control birds (P < 0.01). The diets did not affect plasma metabolic traits, except that plasma insulin-like growth factor I concentrations were almost twice as high in animals fed 1.2 g/kg of GAA compared with those of all other treatments. The GAA included in all-vegetable diets improved animal performance for the whole rearing period and increased breast meat yield.

Effects of dietary guanidinoacetic acid and betaine supplementation on performance, blood biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of broilers subjected to cold stress

“…Also, supplemental GAA significantly improved FCR and breast meat yield, which might be related to increase muscle levels of creatine (Heger et al 2014). Creatine is necessary for energy haemostasis of cells, especially in birds fed the creatine-deficient diets exclusively based on vegetable ingredients such as corn and soybean meal (Michiels et al 2012). The GAA might be important in poultry nutrition in order to support overall energy homeostasis of the bird; an impact which is beyond the arginine sparing effect of GAA (Dilger et al 2013).…”

The Relationship Between Guanidino Acetic Acid and Metabolisable Energy Level of Diets on Performance of Broiler Chickens

“…Recently, positive effects on growth performance were noticed when broilers were administered GAA. The transformation of GAA into creatine was evidenced by an increase in creatine levels (in serum and muscle) (Lemme et al, 2007a(Lemme et al, , 2007bRingel et al, 2008;Michiels et al, 2012;Carvalho et al, 2013). Moreover, GAA could be beneficial in broiler diets because it may be able to spare arginine, which is considered to be the fifth limiting amino acid in typical corn-soybean diets for broilers (Baker, 2009;Waguespack et al, 2009).…”

Effects of Guanidionoacetic Acid and Arginine Supplementation to Vegetable Diets Fed to Broiler Chickens Subjected to Heat Stress before Slaughter

“…Creatine and phosphocreatine are not present in all cells, but only in high-energy expenditure cells, particularly in muscle cells. This system works as a ADP-ATP cycle backup in order to store and mobilize energy when necessary in the short term (Michiels et al, 2012).…”

“…Michiels et al (2012) reported that a diet supplemented with GAA (0.6 and 1.2 g/kg) markedly increased the creatine concentration in broiler breast meat. In this sense, GAA supplementation can be particularly important in diets for broiler strains with fast initial growth due to their high energy requirements to supply muscle creatine (Brosnan et al, 2009).…”