The Availability or Retention of Micronutrient Contents in the Ilealdigesta of Broiler Chickens Raised on Plant Protein Diets with and Without Supplemental Enzymes

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of protein sources or diets, amino acid and mineral retentions in the digesta of broiler chickens fed diets based on vegetable protein diets with and without supplementation of microbial enzymes. A total of 160 male broiler chicks (Ross 308) was assigned randomly into four dietary treatments, each replicated five timeswith eight chicks per replicate, in a (2 × 2) factorial design. Two basal diets were formulated with soybean (SBM75 - ) and canola (CM75 - ) meals at a ratio of 3:1 along with basal grains, and fed to the birds ad libitum as such or supplemented with enzymes from 1-35 days. Parameters measured are amino acids (histidine, arginine, glycine, threonine, lysine, methionine, valine, iso-leucine, leucine, and phenylalanine) and mineral contents (Mn, Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg, Na, K and P) from the digesta samples of broilers collected on 21d and 35 days, respectively. The concentrations of all amino acids measured here were increased (P 0.05) between two test diets, except for arginine which was increased (P<0.05) in SBM75 - diet compared to CM75 - diet when fed the birds on 35d. The retentions of Cu, Zn, and Ca found in ilelaldigesta were increased (P<0.05; P<0.01) in chicks fed on SBM75 - diets, but not the contents of Mg, Na and P, which were higher (P<0.01) in CM75 - diets on day 21. Only the retentions of Cu, Zn, Ca, P, and Mg were increased (P<0.05; P<0.01) in chicks fed on SBM75 - diets compared to those fed on CM75 - diets on day 35d. Enzyme had influenced (P<0.05) the Na and Cu contents at 21d and 35days, respectively. It can be concluded that dietary protein sources influenced the micro-nutrients (amino acid and mineral) retentions in the digesta of broiler chickens with a little effect of enzymes on the mineral contents only.