Lipid alleviates fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome

At 135% of control, Single Comb White Leghorn laying hens were force fed for 3 weeks, diets based on corn or wheat, the latter made isocaloric to the corn-based diet with either corn oil, corn starch, or wheat starch. The hens fed ad libitum received a corn-based diet. Force feeding the corn-based diet produced fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) with scores averaging 3.3 where 1 = no hemorrhages and 5 = 25 or more hemorrhagic points per liver. Force feeding the wheat-based diet with corn starch, wheat starch, or corn oil resulted in scores of 3.1, 2.7, and 1.9, respectively. Only the latter score was significantly different from the score produced by force feeding the corn-based diet, which when fed ad libitum resulted in an average score of 1.3. Based on these data and the criteria of retained energy, weight gain, percent fat in liver, and plasma estradiol concentrations, we concluded that wheat-based diets with corn- or wheat-starch produce FLHS equivalent to that caused by diets based on corn. Lipid at 4% of the diet had an alleviating effect on FLHS.