Effects of Alanyl-Glutamine Dipeptide Supplementation on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Digestive Enzyme Activity, Immunity, and Antioxidant Status in Growing Laying Hens

Overview

Journal Animals (Basel)

Date 2024 Oct 26

PMID 39457865

Authors

Usman Nazir

Zhenming Fu

Xucheng Zheng

Muhammad Hammad Zafar

Yuanjing Chen

Zhi Yang

Zhiyue Wang

Haiming Yang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Alanyl-glutamine (), a highly soluble and stable Glutamine-dipeptide, is known to improve the performance of poultry birds. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Aln-Gln during the rearing period on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, digestive enzyme activity, immunity, antioxidant status and relative gene expression of brown hens. A total of 480 healthy day-old brown chicks with similar body weights were randomly divided into four dietary groups (8 replicates/group and 15 birds/replicate). Groups A, B, C and D were fed diets containing 0%, 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% Aln-Gln, respectively, for 6 weeks. The body weight () and average daily gain () were higher in hens fed test diets compared with the control ( < 0.05). The feed conversion ratio () was better in test groups as compared to the control group ( < 0.05). The ADFI showed no significant difference between the groups. Dietary treatments had no effect on dry matter (), organic matter () and crude fiber () digestibility. The Aln-Gln also improved gross energy () and crude protein () digestibility ( < 0.05). It has also increased IgG levels in groups C and D. IgM levels were similar to the control in B, C and D. The Aln-Gln increased IL-1 in B and C, IL-2 in C and D, and IL-6 in all test groups ( < 0.05). The supplementation of Aln-Gln had no effect on serum antioxidant indices like CAT, MDA, GSH-PX, GSH, and SOD in 42-day-old growing hens. Aln-Gln supplementation had no significant effect ( > 0.05) on the activity of amylase and lipase, however, a significant improvement ( < 0.05) in the activities of trypsin and chymotrypsin was observed in the test groups. Supplemented Aln-Gln levels in the birds' diets led to an increase in the expression of genes related to growth factors (IGF-1, IGFBP-5), immune markers (IL-1, IL-2, IL-6) and antioxidant status (GSH-Px1), as compared to control group. Aln-Gln supplementation in brown hens during their growing period improved growth, nutrient digestibility, immunity and digestive enzymes activity. These findings suggest that Aln-Gln is a promising dietary additive for enhancing poultry performance.

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