Performance and serum biochemistry of broiler chicken fed dietary supplemental methionine, choline and inorganic sulphate

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to examine the sparing effect of choline and/or sulphate on methionine in serum biochemical indices of broiler chickens in a 21-days feeding trial. Two hundred (200) unsexed one-day old Arbor Acre broiler birds were randomly distributed into five dietary treatments consisting 5 replicates of 8 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. Diet 1 was the control, a basal diet without any of the supplements (methionine, choline or sulphate, diet 2 had the basal diet with methionine (0.30%) only, diet 3 was the basal diet with 0.30% methionine + 0.10% choline, diet 4 was the basal diet with 0.10% choline+ 0.25% sulphate and diet 5 was the basal diet with 0.30% methionine+ 0.10%choline+ 0.25% sulphate. On day 21, two birds per replicate were bled at the jugular vein into heparin bottles for serum biochemical indices. Results showed that feed intake of birds fed methionine, methionine+choline and  methionine+choline+sulphate supplemented diets were similar but significantly higher than those fed diets supplemented with  choline+sulphate and the control diet. Similar trend was observed in the final body weight gain of birds on experimental diets. Improved feed conversion ratio was recorded for birds fed methionine, methionine+choline and methionine+choline+sulphate supplemented diets. Diets had significant (P<0.05) effect on glucose, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, triglyceride, cholesterol, albumin and globulin but liver enzymes were not significant. Supplementation of methionine with the combination of choline and sulphate resulted in overall  improvement of broiler biochemical parameters when compared with control and birds fed combination of choline and sulphate alone. Supplementing methionine with choline and sulphate also spares methionine in improving the health status of the broiler birds by regulating the serum lipids.