Dry matter digestibility and gut histomorphology of broiler chickens fed groundnut cake based–diets supplemented with crystalline L-lysine and DL-methionine

Abstract

Effects of supplementing Groundnut Cake (GNC) based-diets with crystalline L-lysine and DL-methionine on dry matter digestibility and broiler chickens gut histomorphology were investigated in an experiment using 168 one-day old Arbor acre broilers. In a completely randomized design, chicks were randomly allotted to seven dietary treatments each replicated thrice with eight birds per replicate. The treatments were GNC diet without supplementation (T1); GNC diet + 0.2% lysine (T2); GNC diet + 0.4% lysine (T3); GNC diet + 0.2% methionine (T4); GNC diet + 0.4% methionine (T5); GNC diet + 0.2% lysine + 0.2% methionine (T6) and (GNC diet + 0.4% lysine + 0.4% methionine (T7). At day 56, two birds from each replicate were selected and sacrificed; the digestive tract was carefully excised for gut histomorphology using standard procedure. Two birds were also randomly chosen from each replicate and kept in metabolic cage for dry matter digestibility determination. . There were no significant variations (P>0.05 in the height and width of villi of birds across the diets. However, there were significant (P<0.05) differences in the crypt depth and ileal length of birds with those on T1 having the highest crypt depth (159.77µm) while those on T7 the least value (84.08µm). Dry matter digestibility was highest (91.63%) for birds on T2 while those on T4 (57.08%) was lowest. In conclusion, strategic formulation of GNC based diets for chicken with supplemental amino acids improved productivity of birds on T2, T5 and T6. Therefore, metabolism of groundnut cake based diets could be enhanced with appropriate amino acids supplementation.