ISSUE FOCUS 38 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE July 2025 Growth and Carcass Performance 0.85 0.95 1.05 1.16 1.26 Carcass Yield FCR FCR: quadratic, p<0.05 Carcass yield: linear, p<0.05 86.5 86 85.5 85 84.5 84 83.5 83 82.5 1.74 1.72 1.7 1.68 1.66 1.64 1.62 1.6 1.58 by Sirathonpong et al. (2019) studied increasing arginine:lysine (Arg:Lys) requirement at high temperatures. Ross 308 broilers were reared under 2730℃ and fed 5 different diets with Arg:Lys of 0.85, 0.95, 1.05, 1.16, and 1.26. Trial resulted in consistent improvements in feed conversion without any loss in growth and meat yield (results shown in Figure 2). Under heat stress, the organs such as the small intestine, liver, and spleen are experiencing ischemic and hypoxic conditions. Arginine was shown to have an important role in vasodilation and adversely changing blood flow. That may be why arginine plays a functional role under heat stress. FUNCTIONAL EFFECT OF ARGININE IN BROILERS Improve Intestinal Health Zhang (2018) conducted six experiments to study the effects of L-arginine supplementation on the intestinal mucosal injury induced by the intestinal pathogenic bacteria in broiler chickens and related mechanisms. One experiment demonstrated L-arginine supplementation could inhibit Clostridium perfringens overgrowth and alleviate intestinal mucosal injury by promoting innate responses and maintaining intestinal barrier function. Dietary L-arginine supplementation prevented C. perfringens challenge-induced circulating arginine deficiency and normalized arginine transport and metabolism. L-arginine also plays a role in downregulated the activated JAK-STAT (jejunal Janus kinase, signal transducer and activator of transcription) signaling pathway. In another, L-arginine alleviated the intestinal inflammation and mucosal injury of chicken challenged by Clostridium perfringens. The arginine supplemented diet fed during the whole period exhibited more beneficial effects than that only fed during the infection stage. Figure 2. The effect of arginine on performance of broilers reared under heat stress condition Photo: CJ-BIO
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==