image: Schematic overview of the 42-day feeding trial and its main findings on hepatic metabolism, oxidative and intestinal responses, ileal microbiota, and broiler performance.
Credit: HIGHER EDUCATION PRESS
Reducing dietary protein can lower soybean meal use and nitrogen excretion in broiler production. However, low-protein diets may impair growth performance and intestinal health, even when amino acids are supplemented. Reducing dietary energy alongside protein may help maintain a balanced energy-to-protein ratio, but careful formulation remains essential. This study investigated whether betaine phosphate (BETP), a methyl donor and source of available phosphorus, could support broilers fed such diets.
Researchers assigned 480 one-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers to five dietary treatments, with eight replicates of 12 birds each. Over 42 days, birds received either a control diet or a low-energy and low-protein diet supplemented with 0, 1000, 1500, or 2000 mg/kg BETP. Compared with the control diet, the low-energy and low-protein diet provided 0.21 MJ/kg less apparent metabolizable energy and 2.0 percentage points less crude protein during both feeding phases. Researchers assessed feed conversion and carcass yield, liver metabolism-related markers, serum oxidative status, intestinal barrier and inflammatory markers, and ileal microbiota.
Compared with the low-energy and low-protein group, 1000 mg/kg BETP reduced overall feed intake and feed conversion ratio while increasing eviscerated yield. At day 42, BETP-supplemented groups showed lower liver FGF21 levels; the 1500 and 2000 mg/kg groups also showed lower hepatic AMPK and higher CPT1 mRNA expression than the control group, suggesting altered fatty acid metabolism. The 1000 mg/kg group showed enrichment of ileal microbial taxa associated with fiber degradation and butyrate production, including Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae at day 42. Taken together, 1000 mg/kg provided the optimal results in the tested levels.
Under the conditions tested, 1000 mg/kg BETP improved feed conversion and eviscerated yield in broilers fed low-energy and low-protein diets. Changes in hepatic metabolism-related markers and ileal microbiota may help explain these responses, although causal links were not established. The results provide a starting point for evaluating BETP in reduced-protein feeding programs.
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Dietary Betaine Phosphate Supplementation Improves Feed Conversion Efficiency and Carcass Performance via Regulating Energy Metabolism and Ileal Microbiota in Broilers under Low-Energy and Low-Protein Conditions