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D-allothreonine has no growth promoting efficacy for chicks
D H Baker1, D M Webel, S R Fernandez
1Department of Animal Science, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801, USA. d-baker1@uiuc.edu
Poultry Science
|September 11, 1998
Summary
Chicks cannot convert D-allothreonine (D-allo-Thr) into L-threonine (L-Thr) for growth. High levels of either D-allo-Thr or L-Thr did not negatively impact chick weight gain or feed intake.
Area of Science:
- Animal Nutrition
- Biochemistry
- Amino Acid Metabolism
Background:
- L-threonine (L-Thr) is an essential amino acid crucial for poultry growth.
- Understanding the metabolic fate and efficacy of D-allothreonine (D-allo-Thr) is important for feed formulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the biological efficacy of D-allo-Thr compared to L-Thr in young chicks.
- To assess the toxicity of high dietary levels of D-allo-Thr and L-Thr.
Main Methods:
- Two battery trials were conducted using 116 crossbred male chicks.
- Chicks were fed diets supplemented with graded levels of D-allo-Thr or L-Thr to assess efficacy.
- Toxicity was evaluated by supplementing a standard diet with 2% D-allo-Thr or 2% L-Thr.
Main Results:
- L-Thr supplementation significantly improved chick growth and feed efficiency.
- D-allo-Thr supplementation did not elicit any growth or feed efficiency response.
- High dietary concentrations of both D-allo-Thr and L-Thr did not affect weight gain or feed intake.
Conclusions:
- Chicks are unable to metabolize D-allo-Thr into the biologically active L-Thr isomer.
- Neither L-Thr nor D-allo-Thr exhibit growth-depressing effects when fed at high levels in starter diets.