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Betaine Does Not Improve Performance of Laying Hens when the Diet Contains Adequate Choline1
Betaine Does Not Improve Performance of Laying Hens when the Diet Contains Adequate Choline1 R. H. Harms2 and G. B. Russell Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 was no benefit from the substitution of betaine for choline as measured by egg production, egg weight, egg content, or weight gain.
ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted with HyLine W36威 hens to determine possible benefits from adding betaine to the diet of commercial laying hens. There
(Key words: choline, betaine, egg production, egg weight, commercial layer) 2002 Poultry Science 81:99–101
Choline is an essential nutrient for the chicken. One of its functions is to furnish methyl groups that can also be furnished by betaine and Met (Pesti et al., 1980; Lowry et al., 1987; Pesti, 1989). Choline or betaine can reduce the use of Met by furnishing methyl groups, but they cannot reduce the need for Met in the diet if the diet does not contain enough choline (Rostagno and Pack, 1996; Schutte et al., 1997; McDevitt et al., 2000). It has been suggested that feed efficiency is improved more by adding betaine to the diet than by adding choline (Abel et al., 1985); however, others did not find an improvement (Lowry et al., 1987). Schutte et al. (1997) reported that betaine did not affect growth but increased breast meat yield of broilers. The interactions of choline, betaine, and Met have been reviewed by Simon (1999). The present experiment was conducted to determine whether addition of betaine or substitution of betaine for choline to a layer diet would improve performance of the hen.
MATERIAL AND METHODS Hy-Line W36威,3 commercial laying hens, 40 wk of age, were fed one of three corn soybean meal layer diets (Table 1). The diets were formulated to be equivalent in all nutrients, and were formulated by using analyzed amino acid values for corn and soybean meal. The basal
RESULTS There were no significant differences among the hens receiving the three diets as measured by EP, EW, egg content (EC), feed consumption, or weight gain (Table 2). In addition, there were no differences among treatments for daily intake of Met or Met per gram of EC. This result was expected as the diets were formulated to furnish more Met than the hens required.
2002 Poultry Science Association, Inc. Received for publication May 4, 2001. Accepted for publication September 27, 2001. 1 This research was supported by the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station and a grant from Ducoa Company, PO Box 219, Highland, IL 62249, and approved for publication as Journal Series No. R-08124. 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed: harms@animal. ufl.edu. 3 Registered trademark Hy-Line International, Des Moines, IA 50265.
Abbreviation Key: EP = egg production; EW = egg weight; EC = egg content.
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Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Adams State University on January 7, 2015
diet contained 0.35% Met and 0.72% total sulfur amino acids. One diet was supplemented with sufficient choline chloride to furnish 150 mg choline per hen/d when the hens had a daily intake of 100 g feed. Another diet was supplemented with betaine to supply an equivalent amount of molecules that choline furnished. The third diet contained one-half of the supplemental choline and betaine that was used in Diets 1 and 2, respectively. Sodium bicarbonate and NaCl were varied to keep the Na and Cl equal in all diets. All diets contained 14.5% protein, 0.35% Met, 0.76% Lys, 0.18% Trp, 0.17% Na, 0.27% Cl, and 2,829 kcal ME/kg. Each diet was fed to 21 replicates of five individually caged hens. Daily egg records were kept for individual hens, and egg production (EP) was calculated on a replicate basis. One egg from each hen was weighed on the last 2 d of each week. Egg weights (EW) were analyzed on an individual hen basis. The eggs were broken-out and the shells weighed; then daily egg content was calculated (% egg production × (egg weight − shell weight). Feed consumption was measured at 2-wk intervals. The experiment was conducted for 8 wk, and the data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (SAS Institute, 1990).
INTRODUCTION
100
HARMS AND RUSSELL TABLE 1. Composition of diets Diet Ingredients
Choline
Betaine
70.581 18.851 8.456 1.003 0.250 0.250 0.345 0.047 0.095 0.122 ...
70.578 18.851 8.456 1.003 0.250 0.250 0.349 0.002 0.095 ... 0.166
Choline and betaine (%)
Corn Soybean meal (48.5%) Limestone Dicalcium phosphate1 Vitamin mix2 Mineral mix3 Salt Sodium bicarbonate DL-Methionine Choline chloride Betaine
70.579 18.851 8.456 1.003 0.250 0.250 0.347 0.025 0.095 0.061 0.083
1
Contained 18.5% P and 21.5% Ca. Supplied per kilogram of diet at 0.25%; biotin, 0.2 mg; cholecalciferol, 2,200 IU; ethoxyquin, 65 mg; folic acid, 1 mg; niacin, 60 mg; pantothenic acid, 15 mg; pyridoxine, 5 mg; riboflavin, 5 mg; thiamin, 3 mg; vitamin A, 8,000 IU; vitamin B12, 0.02 mg; vitamin E, 20 IU; vitamin K, 2 mg. 3 Supplied per kilogram of diet at 0.25%; copper, 10 mg; ethoxyquin, 65 mg; iodine, 2 mg; iron, 60 mg; manganese, 90 mg; selenium, 0.2 mg; zinc, 80 mg. 2
Supplement
Egg production (%) Egg weight (g) Egg content (g) Feed consumption (g/hen/d) Weight gain (g) Met intake (mg/hen/d) Met/mg egg content
Choline
Betaine
Choline and betaine
Probability
84.1 61.5 47.0 98.0 3.6 343 7.30
84.9 61.3 47.3 97.5 8.1 341 7.21
85.0 61.1 47.3 97.4 11.6 341 7.21
0.43 0.67 0.76 0.88 0.80 0.90 0.73
DISCUSSION Harms et al. (1990) reported that hens would respond to choline supplementation of a corn-soybean meal diet marginal in Met; however, when the diet contained enough Met, no supplemental choline was needed. The Met level of diets in the present study was enough to supply the hen requirements for methyl groups, and none was needed from choline or betaine. The hens in this experiment produced 47 g of EC. The Hy-Line W36威 hen has a potential of producing 50 grams of EC and there was a potential for a response from betaine. Therefore, it is concluded that the addition of betaine does not increase performance of commercial layers when compared to choline or fed in combination with choline. The lack of a response from the addition of betaine to a layer diet is generally in agreement with results with broilers. The improvement in growth and feed efficiency with broilers has been inconsistent (Simon, 1999). Simon concluded that, “the suggestion that betaine is able to decrease fattening remains to be demonstrated,” and
“the slimming effect is very doubtful.” He also concluded, “Betaine is a potent osmolyte and this may account for the fact that it is able to potentiate some anticoccidial compounds.” In view of the inconsistent response with broilers, a response from betaine supplementation of layer might not be expected.
REFERENCES Abel, H., R. Libal, and H. Icking, 1985. Untersuchungen zum Einfluß von Cholin and Betain bei unterschiedlichem Methioningehalt des Legehennenfutters auf Parameter der Legeleistung und Futterverwertung. J. Anim. Physiol. Anim. Nutr. 56:59–65. Harms, R. H., N. Ruiz, and R. D. Miles, 1990. Conditions necessary for a response by commercial laying hen to supplemental choline and sulfate. Poultry Sci. 69:1226–1229. Lowry, K. R., Q. A. Izuierdo, and D. H. Baker, 1987. Efficiency of betaine relative to choline as a dietary methyl donor. Poultry Sci. 66(Suppl. 1):135. (Abstr.). McDevitt, R. M., S. Mack, and I. R. Wallis, 2000. Can betaine partially replace or enhance the effect of methionine of improving broiler growth and carcass characteristics? Br. Poult. Sci. 41:473–480.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Adams State University on January 7, 2015
TABLE 2. Performance of hens fed diets with choline, betaine, or a combination of choline and betaine
RESEARCH NOTE Pesti, G. M., 1989. The nutrition of labile methyl group donors in broiler chickens. Pages 145–150 in: Proceedings of the Maryland Nutrition Conference, College Park, MD. Pesti, G. M., A. E. Harper, and M. L. Sunde, 1980. Choline nutrition of starting broiler chicks: Three models for estimating the choline requirements with economic considerations. Poultry Sci. 59:1073–1081. Rostagno, H. S., and M. Pack, 1996. Can betaine replace supplemental DL-methionine in broiler diets? J. Appl. Poult. Res. 5:150–154.
101
SAS Institute, 1990. SAS User’s Guide Statistics. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC. Schutte, J. B., J. De Jong, W. Smink, and M. Pack, 1997. Replacement value of betaine for DL-methionine in male broiler chicks. Poultry Sci. 76:321–325. Simon, J., 1999. Choline, betaine and methionine interactions in chickens, pigs and fish including crustaceans. World’s Poult. Sci. J. 55:353–374.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Adams State University on January 7, 2015
ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted with HyLine W36威 hens to determine possible benefits from adding betaine to the diet of commercial laying hens. There
(Key words: choline, betaine, egg production, egg weight, commercial layer) 2002 Poultry Science 81:99–101
Choline is an essential nutrient for the chicken. One of its functions is to furnish methyl groups that can also be furnished by betaine and Met (Pesti et al., 1980; Lowry et al., 1987; Pesti, 1989). Choline or betaine can reduce the use of Met by furnishing methyl groups, but they cannot reduce the need for Met in the diet if the diet does not contain enough choline (Rostagno and Pack, 1996; Schutte et al., 1997; McDevitt et al., 2000). It has been suggested that feed efficiency is improved more by adding betaine to the diet than by adding choline (Abel et al., 1985); however, others did not find an improvement (Lowry et al., 1987). Schutte et al. (1997) reported that betaine did not affect growth but increased breast meat yield of broilers. The interactions of choline, betaine, and Met have been reviewed by Simon (1999). The present experiment was conducted to determine whether addition of betaine or substitution of betaine for choline to a layer diet would improve performance of the hen.
MATERIAL AND METHODS Hy-Line W36威,3 commercial laying hens, 40 wk of age, were fed one of three corn soybean meal layer diets (Table 1). The diets were formulated to be equivalent in all nutrients, and were formulated by using analyzed amino acid values for corn and soybean meal. The basal
RESULTS There were no significant differences among the hens receiving the three diets as measured by EP, EW, egg content (EC), feed consumption, or weight gain (Table 2). In addition, there were no differences among treatments for daily intake of Met or Met per gram of EC. This result was expected as the diets were formulated to furnish more Met than the hens required.
2002 Poultry Science Association, Inc. Received for publication May 4, 2001. Accepted for publication September 27, 2001. 1 This research was supported by the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station and a grant from Ducoa Company, PO Box 219, Highland, IL 62249, and approved for publication as Journal Series No. R-08124. 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed: harms@animal. ufl.edu. 3 Registered trademark Hy-Line International, Des Moines, IA 50265.
Abbreviation Key: EP = egg production; EW = egg weight; EC = egg content.
99
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Adams State University on January 7, 2015
diet contained 0.35% Met and 0.72% total sulfur amino acids. One diet was supplemented with sufficient choline chloride to furnish 150 mg choline per hen/d when the hens had a daily intake of 100 g feed. Another diet was supplemented with betaine to supply an equivalent amount of molecules that choline furnished. The third diet contained one-half of the supplemental choline and betaine that was used in Diets 1 and 2, respectively. Sodium bicarbonate and NaCl were varied to keep the Na and Cl equal in all diets. All diets contained 14.5% protein, 0.35% Met, 0.76% Lys, 0.18% Trp, 0.17% Na, 0.27% Cl, and 2,829 kcal ME/kg. Each diet was fed to 21 replicates of five individually caged hens. Daily egg records were kept for individual hens, and egg production (EP) was calculated on a replicate basis. One egg from each hen was weighed on the last 2 d of each week. Egg weights (EW) were analyzed on an individual hen basis. The eggs were broken-out and the shells weighed; then daily egg content was calculated (% egg production × (egg weight − shell weight). Feed consumption was measured at 2-wk intervals. The experiment was conducted for 8 wk, and the data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (SAS Institute, 1990).
INTRODUCTION
100
HARMS AND RUSSELL TABLE 1. Composition of diets Diet Ingredients
Choline
Betaine
70.581 18.851 8.456 1.003 0.250 0.250 0.345 0.047 0.095 0.122 ...
70.578 18.851 8.456 1.003 0.250 0.250 0.349 0.002 0.095 ... 0.166
Choline and betaine (%)
Corn Soybean meal (48.5%) Limestone Dicalcium phosphate1 Vitamin mix2 Mineral mix3 Salt Sodium bicarbonate DL-Methionine Choline chloride Betaine
70.579 18.851 8.456 1.003 0.250 0.250 0.347 0.025 0.095 0.061 0.083
1
Contained 18.5% P and 21.5% Ca. Supplied per kilogram of diet at 0.25%; biotin, 0.2 mg; cholecalciferol, 2,200 IU; ethoxyquin, 65 mg; folic acid, 1 mg; niacin, 60 mg; pantothenic acid, 15 mg; pyridoxine, 5 mg; riboflavin, 5 mg; thiamin, 3 mg; vitamin A, 8,000 IU; vitamin B12, 0.02 mg; vitamin E, 20 IU; vitamin K, 2 mg. 3 Supplied per kilogram of diet at 0.25%; copper, 10 mg; ethoxyquin, 65 mg; iodine, 2 mg; iron, 60 mg; manganese, 90 mg; selenium, 0.2 mg; zinc, 80 mg. 2
Supplement
Egg production (%) Egg weight (g) Egg content (g) Feed consumption (g/hen/d) Weight gain (g) Met intake (mg/hen/d) Met/mg egg content
Choline
Betaine
Choline and betaine
Probability
84.1 61.5 47.0 98.0 3.6 343 7.30
84.9 61.3 47.3 97.5 8.1 341 7.21
85.0 61.1 47.3 97.4 11.6 341 7.21
0.43 0.67 0.76 0.88 0.80 0.90 0.73
DISCUSSION Harms et al. (1990) reported that hens would respond to choline supplementation of a corn-soybean meal diet marginal in Met; however, when the diet contained enough Met, no supplemental choline was needed. The Met level of diets in the present study was enough to supply the hen requirements for methyl groups, and none was needed from choline or betaine. The hens in this experiment produced 47 g of EC. The Hy-Line W36威 hen has a potential of producing 50 grams of EC and there was a potential for a response from betaine. Therefore, it is concluded that the addition of betaine does not increase performance of commercial layers when compared to choline or fed in combination with choline. The lack of a response from the addition of betaine to a layer diet is generally in agreement with results with broilers. The improvement in growth and feed efficiency with broilers has been inconsistent (Simon, 1999). Simon concluded that, “the suggestion that betaine is able to decrease fattening remains to be demonstrated,” and
“the slimming effect is very doubtful.” He also concluded, “Betaine is a potent osmolyte and this may account for the fact that it is able to potentiate some anticoccidial compounds.” In view of the inconsistent response with broilers, a response from betaine supplementation of layer might not be expected.
REFERENCES Abel, H., R. Libal, and H. Icking, 1985. Untersuchungen zum Einfluß von Cholin and Betain bei unterschiedlichem Methioningehalt des Legehennenfutters auf Parameter der Legeleistung und Futterverwertung. J. Anim. Physiol. Anim. Nutr. 56:59–65. Harms, R. H., N. Ruiz, and R. D. Miles, 1990. Conditions necessary for a response by commercial laying hen to supplemental choline and sulfate. Poultry Sci. 69:1226–1229. Lowry, K. R., Q. A. Izuierdo, and D. H. Baker, 1987. Efficiency of betaine relative to choline as a dietary methyl donor. Poultry Sci. 66(Suppl. 1):135. (Abstr.). McDevitt, R. M., S. Mack, and I. R. Wallis, 2000. Can betaine partially replace or enhance the effect of methionine of improving broiler growth and carcass characteristics? Br. Poult. Sci. 41:473–480.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Adams State University on January 7, 2015
TABLE 2. Performance of hens fed diets with choline, betaine, or a combination of choline and betaine
RESEARCH NOTE Pesti, G. M., 1989. The nutrition of labile methyl group donors in broiler chickens. Pages 145–150 in: Proceedings of the Maryland Nutrition Conference, College Park, MD. Pesti, G. M., A. E. Harper, and M. L. Sunde, 1980. Choline nutrition of starting broiler chicks: Three models for estimating the choline requirements with economic considerations. Poultry Sci. 59:1073–1081. Rostagno, H. S., and M. Pack, 1996. Can betaine replace supplemental DL-methionine in broiler diets? J. Appl. Poult. Res. 5:150–154.
101
SAS Institute, 1990. SAS User’s Guide Statistics. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC. Schutte, J. B., J. De Jong, W. Smink, and M. Pack, 1997. Replacement value of betaine for DL-methionine in male broiler chicks. Poultry Sci. 76:321–325. Simon, J., 1999. Choline, betaine and methionine interactions in chickens, pigs and fish including crustaceans. World’s Poult. Sci. J. 55:353–374.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Adams State University on January 7, 2015