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Influence of Dietary Copper Methionine Concentrations on Growth Performance, Digestibility of Nutrients, Serum Lipid Profiles, and Immune Defenses in Broilers

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Abstract

A 42-day experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of dietary copper (Cu) concentrations on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and serum parameters in broilers aged from 1 to 42 days. Five hundred forty 1-day-old broilers were randomly assigned into 1 of the following 6 dietary treatments: (1) control (basal diet without supplemental Cu), (2) 15 mg/kg supplemental Cu (Cu15), (3) 30 mg/kg supplemental Cu (Cu30), (4) 60 mg/kg supplemental Cu (Cu60), (5) 120 mg/kg supplemental Cu (Cu120), and (6) 240 mg/kg supplemental Cu (Cu240), Cu as copper methionine. A 4-day metabolism trial was conducted during the last week of the experiment feeding. The results showed that dietary Cu supplementation increased the average daily gain and the average daily feed intake (P < 0.01). The feed gain ratio, however, was not affected by dietary Cu (P > 0.10). Additionally, dietary Cu supplementation increased the digestibility of fat and energy (P < 0.05). The concentration of serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased with dietary Cu supplementation (P < 0.05). The activities of serum Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (P < 0.05), glutathione peroxidase (P < 0.05), and ceruloplasmin (P = 0.09), on the contrary, were increased by Cu addition. For immune indexes, dietary Cu supplementation increased serum IgA and IgM (P < 0.05). In addition, the activities of serum ALT increased with increasing dietary Cu supplementation (P < 0.05). In conclusion, our data suggest that Cu supplementation can increase fat digestibility and promote growth. Additionally, dietary Cu supplementation can reduce serum cholesterol and enhance antioxidant capacity in broilers.

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Funding

The funding for this study was from Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province of China (1708085QC74), High-level Talents Introduction Project of Anhui Institute of Science and Technology (DKYJ201701), Chuzhou Science and Technology Project (2018ZN014), and the fund of National Natural Science Foundation in Higher Education of Anhu, China (KJ2018A0535).

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  1. College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Bengbu, 233100, China

    Xuezhuang Wu, Sifa Dai, Jinling Hua, Hong Hu, Shujuan Wang & Aiyou Wen

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  1. Xuezhuang Wu
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Wu, X., Dai, S., Hua, J. et al. Influence of Dietary Copper Methionine Concentrations on Growth Performance, Digestibility of Nutrients, Serum Lipid Profiles, and Immune Defenses in Broilers. Biol Trace Elem Res 191, 199–206 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-018-1594-5

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