Dietary calcium or phosphorus deficiency impairs the bone development by regulating related calcium or phosphorus metabolic utilization parameters of broilers

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary calcium (Ca) or phosphorus (P) deficiency on bone development and related Ca or P metabolic utilization parameters of broilers. A total of 504 one-day-old Arbor Acres male broilers were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments with 7 replicates of 18 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. A 2 (Ca levels: 1.00 and 0.35%) × 2 (nonphytate P [NPP] levels: 0.45 and 0.23%) factorial arrangement of treatments was adopted in the 21-day trial. The 4 treatments were the Ca- and P-adequate diet (1.00% Ca + 0.45% NPP), the Ca-deficient diet (0.35% Ca + 0.45% NPP), the P-deficient diet (1.00% Ca + 0.23% NPP), and the Ca- and P-deficient diet (0.35% Ca + 0.23% NPP). The greatest impact on tibia bone mineral density, bone breaking strength, and ash content was in the P-deficient diets, especially in broilers fed with the Ca-adequate diet, whereas adequate P and reduced Ca reduced (P < 0.05) these parameters compared with adequate Ca and P, but not to the same level as P deficiency. Furthermore, dietary Ca or P deficiency, especially adequate Ca and P deficiency decreased (P < 0.05) serum P, 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) (25-OHD(3)) contents, and tibia ash Ca and P contents but increased (P < 0.05) the serum Ca content and tibia alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity compared with adequate Ca and P. The results from this study indicated that the bone development and Ca or P metabolic utilization parameters of broilers were the most sensitive ones to dietary P deficiency, followed by dietary Ca deficiency or Ca and P deficiencies. Dietary P deficiency impaired the bone development by increasing serum Ca content and tibia ALP activity but decreasing serum P, 25-OHD(3) contents, and tibia ash Ca and P contents of broilers. Dietary Ca deficiency impaired bone development by increasing serum Ca content, tibia ALP activity, and tibia ash P content but decreasing serum P, 25-OHD(3) contents, and tibia ash Ca content of broilers.