GUSTOR N’RGY and Nutrient Concentration on Histology Parameters in Broilers

In the APPC 2018 in Bangkok, Norel presented an evaluation of GUSTOR N’RGY (N’RGY) at 1kg/t added to 3 diets with decreasing nutrient concentration (control diet (CON, 3,000 kcal AMEn/kg, 22.02% CP and 11.6 g/kg dig Lys), CON-1 and CON-2, with nutrient reductions of 60 and 120 kcal AMEn/kg and 2.3 and 4.6% of amino acids, respectively) on gut morphology in broilers.

Six experimental diets were supplied to 162 chicks placed in metabolic cages with 3 chickens each. At 22d of age, duodenum and ileum sections were collected for histological study.

In duodenum, the inclusion of N’RGY increased villus height (VH) (1644 vs 1693µm; P=0.042). Nutrient reduction tended to increase Villus:Crypt ratio (V:C) (15.9, 16.4 vs 16.6, for CON, CON-1 and CON-2, P=0.055). In ileum, N’RGY tended to increase VH (420 vs 453 µm; P=0.056), mucosa thickness (538.1 vs 590.2 µm; P=0.010) and increased V:C (4.6 vs 5.1; P=0.034). Nutrient reduction tended to increase V:C (4.5, 5.0 vs 5.1; P=0.086) and reduce villi counts (5.8, 5.5 vs 5.3; P=0.098) for CON, CON-1 and CON-2. There were interactions between nutrient concentration and N’RGY addition in crypt depth (P=0.007) and villi counts (P=0.022); when decreasing nutrient concentration without supplementation villi counts decreased, while in animals supplemented with N’RGY villi counts were maintained.

The improvement in gut morphology with GUSTOR N’RGY could explain better energy retention reported in previous studies.