Effect of methyl donors supplementation on performance, immune responses and anti-oxidant variables in broiler chicken fed diet without supplemental methionine

OBJECTIVE: Methionine (Met) is involved in methyl group transfer besides protein synthesis. As the availability is limited and cost is high for synthetic Met, reductions in its inclusion in broiler diet may be possible by supplementing the low Met diets with methyl donors (MD) like betaine (Bet), folic acid (FA), vitamin B12 (B12), and biotin (Bio). An experiment was conducted to study the effects of supplementing the MD on performance (average daily gain [ADG], daily feed intake, feed efficiency [FE]), anti-oxidant variables, immune responses and serum protein concentration in broilers fed sub-optimal concentrations of dietary Met. METHODS: Maize-soybean meal diet was used as control (CD). Different MD like Bet (0.2%), B12 (0.1 mg), FA (4 mg), or Bio (1.5 mg/kg) were supplemented to basal diet (BD) having no supplemental Met. The BD without MD was kept for comparison. Each diet was fed ad libitum to 10 replicates of 25 chicks in each from 1 to 42 d of age. RESULTS: At the end of experiment, the ADG in MD group was higher than BD and lower than CD. The FE improved with FA or Bet compared to the BD. Breast meat weight was higher in Bet compared to the BD, while it was intermediate between BD and CD in other groups. The lipid peroxidation reduced with Bio, B12, or Bet, while the glutathione peroxidase activity improved with Bio or B12 compared to the BD. Lymphocyte proliferation improved with Bet compared to the BD. The serum protein concentrations increased with FA, Bio, or Bet compared to those fed BD. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the ADG can be improved partially with supplementation of MD while the FE improved with FA or Bet. Some MD also reduced the stress indices and improved immune responses compared to the BD fed broilers.