Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
REVUE DE MEDECINE VETERINAIRE, cilt.158, sa.6, ss.291-296, 2007 (SCI-Expanded)
The aim of the present experiment is to determine the effects of a dietary L-Carnitine supplementation on growth parameters, carcass composition, and some serum biochemical markers (total cholesterol, Protein and albumin concentrations) in broiler chickens according to the energy level of the ration. 288 one day old ROSS 308 broiler chicks were equally divided into 4 groups (n = 72): birds of the groups I and II were fed with energy-depressed diets supplemented or not with L carnitine (100 mg/kg of food) respectively whereas the 2 other groups received diets with a normal energy level supplemented (group IV) or not (group III) with L carnitine. Carcass weights and their corresponding indexes were significantly lowered in birds with energy-depleted diets. Mortality rates and growth parameters (body weights, weight gains, food intake and food conversion ratio) did not significantly differ between groups although the dietary L carnitine supplementation appeared to weakly improve the growth of birds receiving low energy diets (group II). However. L carnitine induced significant increases of the liver weights and of serum albumin concentrations in dietary energy depleted birds (group II) compared to the respective controls (group I). The Bursa Fabricius weight and its index were also markedly enhanced in the group II compared to the other groups. The weights of the other organs (abdominal fat, heart and gizzard) as well as serum total cholesterol and protein concentrations were not significantly altered by L carnitine supplementation and/or by the dietary energy level. These results suggest that, except a putative positive effect on humoral immunity, L carnitine did not provide significant effects on growth performance in young broilers (even if the dietary energy level was weakly lowered.