Figure 3. Arginine requirement in broilers (IRTA & CJ)


Figure 5. Tendency of fat reduction by arginine supplementation (UGA & CJ)


(a) Average Daily Gain


(b) Feed Conversion Ratio


Physiological Functions of L-Arginine in Broilers Arginine can be associated with various functions in broilers, but the main four functions are itemised below.


1) Fat Reduction One study mentioned that modern broilers contain 15 ~ 20% of fat, and more than 85% of this fat is not physiologically required for body function (Fouad and El-Senousey, 2014; Choct et al., 2000). Dietary L-Arginine is effective in reducing this unfavourable fat level.


Figure 4. L-Arginine and fat reduction


2) Heat/Cold Stress Alleviation Under climate changes and intensive rearing system, heat stress becomes one of the most important issues in the broiler industry. Heat stress can negatively affect feed intake and hence body weight gain and feed conversion ratio.


Figure 6. L-Arginine and stress alleviation


Fouad et al. (2013) demonstrated that supplementing 0.25%


L-Arginine in broiler diets reduced abdominal fat deposition. The reduced abdominal fat deposition may be due to a reduced hepatic FAS (fatty acid synthase) gene expression and enhanced fatty acid β-oxidation. These findings suggest that dietary L-Arginine supplementation is effective in reducing abdominal fat (unfavourable fat) deposition and without negatively affecting intramuscular fat (favourable fat) content. Corzo et al. (2003) showed that L-Arginine supplementation can bring lower abdominal fat and higher chilled carcass yield. A study done with the University of Georgia (UGA, Castro et


al., 2017) also showed that arginine supplementation can reduce abdominal fat in broilers (Figure 5).


Studies have shown that arginine reacts with ROS (reactive


oxygen species) and reduces heat stress (Shan et al., 2013). Other studies demonstrated that arginine can attenuate negative effects of cold stress (Sharifi et al., 2015; Fouad et al., 2012). This implies that arginine can alleviate oxygen-deficient stress during winter with insufficient ventilation (Basoo et al., 2012).


3) Bone Development Arginine can stimulate the secretion of growth hormone and this promotes collagen and non-collagen matrix formation (Visser and


FEED COMPOUNDER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 PAGE 29


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