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Title: DIETARY YOHIMBINE AND METAPROTERENOL EFFECTS ON THE RESPONSE OF BROILERS TO ISOPROTERENOL (ISO) AND CYCLIC ADENOSINE MONOPHOSPHATE (CAMP) IN VITRO

Author
item Rosebrough, Robert

Submitted to: Nutrition Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/1994
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Excess fat production in the modern broiler accounts for an annual loss to the poultry industry of 800 to 950 million dollars annually. The original source of this problem relates to selection genetic practices that emphasized rapid growth at the expense of other carcass characteristics. The literature is limited concerning the genetic x nutrition interaction involved in the control of fat synthesis in the modern broiler. We used a rapid growth strain of male chicks to study the effects of dietary protein on the ability of chicks to synthesize fat. The line of chicks selected for rapid growth provided liver tissue that, when put into a culture system, exhibited a high rate of lipid synthetic ability. When lines of chickens were fed higher protein diets, they exhibited a decrease in the ability to produce fat. Repartitioning agents, when used to reduce fat in the modern broier, do not require a specific level of dietary protein for effectiveness.

Technical Abstract: Broiler chickens growing from 7-28 d of age were fed diets containing 18% protein and 0, 1, 10 or 100 mg/kg yohimbine (alpha-2-adrenergic antagonist) or metaproterenol (beta-adrenergic agonist) to determine the role of adrenergic agents in the regulation of feeding behavior and metabolism. Metaproterenol (1 and 10 mg/kg diet) improved and yohimbine (100 mg/kg) depressed growth from 7 to 28 days. Both metaproterenol and yohimbine (100 mg/kg) decreased (P<0.05) IVL compared to controls. The IVL ratio (+ISO or cAMP:-ISO -cAMP) was not affected by feeding either of the two compounds. These dietary additions also decreased (P<0.05) hepatic malic enzyme activity without affecting the activities of either isocitrate dehydrogenase or glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase. Data from this experiment suggest that both an alpha-adrenergic antagonist and a beta-adrenergic agonist affect feed intake, growth and metabolism in the broiler chicken.