Effects of organic chromium sources on growth performance, lipid metabolism, antioxidant status, breast amino acid and fatty acid profiles in broilers

BACKGROUND: Trivalent chromium (Cr) is involved in carbohydrate, lipid, protein and nucleic acid metabolism in animals. This study evaluated the effects of different organic Cr forms with Cr methionine (CrMet), Cr picolinate (CrPic), Cr nicotinate (CrNic), and Cr yeast (Cr‐yeast) at the level of 400 μg kg(−1) Cr, on growth performance, lipid metabolism, antioxidant status, breast amino acid and fatty acid profiles of broilers. In total, 540 one‐day‐old Arbor Acres male broilers were randomly assigned to five treatments with six replicates (18 broilers per replicate) until day 42. RESULTS: The results showed growth performance was not affected by Cr sources. The Cr‐yeast group had lower serum cortisol levels than the CrNic group (P < 0.05). Besides, Cr‐yeast increased methionine and cysteine content in breast compared with the control group. Liver malondialdehyde content was lower in the CrMet group than the CrPic group on day 42 (P < 0.05). The n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) values were increased, but the n‐6/n‐3 PUFA ratio was decreased in both CrMet and CrNic groups (P < 0.05). There were no significant effects on broilers’ serum antioxidant status and breast total essential amino acid content among all treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Diets supplemented with organic Cr could regulate lipid metabolism, and improve amino acid and fatty acid profiles in broiler breast. Moreover, Cr‐yeast was the most effective source in improving methionine and cysteine content, whereas CrMet was more effective than CrNic in increasing n‐3 PUFA value and decreasing n‐6/n‐3 PUFA ratio in breast meat and effectively strengthened liver antioxidant ability than CrPic. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.