Effects of Dietary Saturated or Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Effects of Dietary Saturated or Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Calcium Levels on
Performance and Mineral Metabolism of Broiler Chicks
J. O. ATTEH and S. LEESON
Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario NIG 2W1
(Received for publication October 11, 1983)
1984 Poultry Science 6 3:2252-2260
INTRODUCTION
Fats are added to poultry diets as a source of
energy, and in certain situations a so-called
"extra caloric effect" is observed (Cullen et al,
1962; Jensen et al, 1970; Horani and Sell,
1977; Mateos and Sell, 1980). However, the
efficiency of utilization of fats is dependent on
their component fatty acids because saturated
fatty acids are less efficiently utilized than are
unsaturated fatty acids (Renner and Hill, 1961;
Young and Garrett, 1963, Corino et al, 1980).
The detrimental effects of fats on mineral
metabolism and especially that of calcium,
magnesium, and zinc have been documented
(Whitehead et al, 1971; Dewar et al., 1975;
Hakansson, 1975b; Atteh et al, 1983). This is
due to the formation of insoluble soaps between fatty acids and these minerals during
digestion, which renders both the fatty acids
and these minerals unavailable. Hakansson
(1975a) recommended that when high levels of
fat are used in poultry diets, calcium and
magnesium levels should be increased. Utilization of saturated fatty acids have also been
observed to improve in the presence of unsaturated fatty acids through a process of fatty
acid synergism (Sibbald et al, 1961; Lall and
Slinger, 1973; Leeson and Summers, 1976).
However, Summers and Leeson (1980) reported
that fatty acid synergism does not fully explain
the extra energy effect obtained when animal
fats are added to poultry diets. In an earlier
study (Atteh and Leeson, 1983), it was observed that a large percentage of saturated fatty
acids in chicken excreta were present as unutilized soap in contrast to that observed with
unsaturated fatty acids.
The present study was undertaken to investigate whether the beneficial effect of
unsaturated fatty acids on saturated fatty acid
utilization is related to reduced insoluble soap
formation and whether this situation is influenced by dietary calcium content.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Three hundred and eighty male broiler
chicks, housed at day-old in electrically heated
battery brooders, were fed the experimental
diets shown in Table 1. The basal diet contained 21.6% crude protein and provided 3000
kcal metabolizable energy (ME)/kg. The 12
experimental diets consisted of a 4 X 3 factorial
combination of types of fatty acid and calcium
levels. The fatty acids, consisting of oleic,
palmitic, or a 50/50 (w/w) mixture of the two
added at 8% of the diet, were substituted for
alpha floe cellulose in the control diet. Because
2252
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
ABSTRACT
The effects of inclusion of 8% oleic, palmitic, or a 50/50 mixture of oleic and
palmitic acids as the major source of fat in the presence of .8, 1.2, or 1.6% calcium in broiler diets
was investigated using broiler chicks from day-old to 3 weeks of age.
Supplementation of broiler diets with oleic acid reduced feed intake (P<.05) and improved feed
efficiency (P<.01) compared to other treatments. Chicks fed diets supplemented with oleic acid or
a mixture of oleic and palmitic acid gained more weight (P<.01) over a 3-week period. Significant
interactions were observed between type of dietary fatty acid and calcium level on metabolizable
energy of diets (P<.01), magnesium retention (P<.05), calcium and fat retention (P<.01), and
proportion of excreta fatty acid that was present as soap (P<,01). Although all fatty acids tested
formed soap in the small intestine, soaps of oleic acid were efficiently utilized as opposed to
soaps of palmitic acid. There was a significant (P<.05) reduction in bone ash and bone calcium
content of chicks fed diets supplemented with palmitic acid. There was a significant interaction
(P<.05) between type of fatty acid and calcium level on bone magnesium content. Increasing the
calcium content of diets aggravated the decrease in calcium retention and bone calcium content
associated with addition of fat.
(Key words: oleic, palmitic acids, calcium, chick performance and bone minerals)
2253
FATTY ACIDS AND CALCIUM
ON
Tf (N >* CN
N *1-* *t <N
-* (N
O
~ '
E £
•E £
§ 5 =
s'l =
s: > P
a.
1 2 p?
Sri
0\ oo
C^ 00
fn r~
! H
H
If
III
ON
00
' -^ d
u?
Mi
in
IM
O
d
III
?
E^
MJti:
iiliill—«
ill
tin
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
reported ME and absorbability values of saturated fatty acids range from 0 to 80% (Renner
and Hill, 1961; Hurwitz et al., 1973), and
because such values are confounded with
bird age (Renner and Hill, 1960), diet inclusion
level (Miller, 1974), and diet composition
(Leeson and Summers, 1976), all fatty acids
were initially ascribed an ME value of zero. It
was thought that this arbitrary decision would
not influence most biochemical parameters
measured, and that those production measurements influenced by dietary energy level
could subsequently be discussed in relation to
actual diet ME values determined in the trial.
Calcium levels were .8, 1.2, or 1.6%. Each
treatment was tested with four replicate cages
of eight chicks. Feed and water were supplied
ad libitum during a trial period that lasted 3
weeks.
A nutrient retention study using chromic
oxide as a marker was undertaken when the
chicks were 2 weeks old. Excreta samples were
collected over a 72 hr period and dried in a
forced air oven at 70 C and ground prior to
ashing at 600 C and subsequent chemical
analysis. Incidence of leg deformities was
subjectively evaluated when the chicks were 3
weeks old. Chicks were either classified as
having normal legs or deformed legs; the latter
exhibited valgus-varus deformity of the intertarsal joint, or swollen hocks, or both. At 3
weeks of age, feed intake and body weight gain
over the 3-week period were determined.
Chicks within each replicate were then killed by
dislocation of the neck, and the body cavity
was exposed. The contents of the gizzard and
the small intestine were flushed out separately
with double distilled water. The contents of the
gizzards and small intestines of all the chicks
within a replicate were each pooled and freeze
dried prior to grinding. Also, the left tibia of
two chicks per replicate was removed and
cleaned of adhering flesh, dried at 100 C for 24
hr, defatted using Soxhlet extraction apparatus,
and dried again prior to dry ashing at 600 C
overnight.
Chemical Analysis. Nitrogen in both feed
and excreta were determined by the Kjeldahl
procedure (Kjel-foss Automatic model 16310),
and gross energy was determined by adiabatic
oxygen bomb calorimetry (Parr, Model 1241).
Ash samples from feed, excreta, and bone were
digested using the method of Association of
Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 1980) for
preparation of sample solution of inorganic
ATTEH AND LEESON
2254
Samples of the feed were subjected to similar
two-stage ether extraction to act as standards.
The fat extracted from feed and that extracted
from each of the two extractions from excreta
and the contents of the gizzard and small
intestine were then esterified with .2 N methanolic trimethyl ammonium hydroxide and the
methyl esters analyzed for component fatty
acids by gas-liquid chromatography (Varian,
Model 2100), using the method of AOAC
(1980). A 5' X .08" column of 5% DEGS PS on
100/120 mesh Supelcoport was used in the
chromatograph.
Data collected were analyzed statistically by
analysis of variance using the model for twoway factorial design. Significant differences
among treatments were determined by Duncan's new multiple range test (Duncan, 1955).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Chick Performance. Table 2 shows the
influence of the dietary treatments on performance of chicks from day-old to 3 weeks of
age. Chicks fed diets supplemented with oleic
acid or the mixture of oleic and palmitic acid
(O/P mixture) consumed less feed (P<.05) than
those birds fed the control diet or diets supplemented with palmitic acid. Chicks fed
diets supplemented with oleic acid and the O/P
mixture gained more weight (P<.01) than
TABLE 2. Effects of dietary saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and calcium levels on performance of
broiler chicks to 3 weeks of age
Leg
deformities 1
Daily
feed
intake
Body
weight
gain/bird
(g/bird)
(g)
Dietary types of fatty acid (F)
Control
Oleic acid (O)
Palmitic acid (P)
50/50 O and P mixture
*
**
29.5
26.6 a
29.4 b
27.3 a
364.7
411.9 b
365.7 a
391.8 b
1.73
1.59 a
1.72b
1.67 b
5.2"
16.7 b
10.4 a b
15.6 b
NS
5.3
4.2
3.1
3.1
Calcium (Ca) (%)
.8
1.2
1.6
NS
29.3
27.8
27.5
NS
386.4
384.7
379.5
NS
1.69
1.67
1.67
NS
14.8
14.1
7.0
NS
4.4
2.3
4.4
Ca X fatty acid
Standard deviation
NS
2.2
NS
18.1
NS
.09
NS
2.4
NS
1.8
Dietary treatments
b
Efficiency
(feed:gain)
Mortality
tn> \
a
**
b
*
\'*>
a,b,Within main treatment catagories, means within column followed by different superscript(s) are significantly different (*P<.05; **P<.01). NS = No significant difference (PX05).
1
Chicks with deformed legs at 3 weeks of age, expressed as a percentage of chicks in each treatment.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
materials for atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The resulting solutions were transferred
into 100-ml volumetric flasks and made up to
volume with strontium chloride (1.5% w/v).
Further dilutions were made where necessary.
The solutions were then analyzed for calcium
and magnesium using a Techtron atomic
absorption spectrophotometer (Model AA 4 )
and phosphorus using a Technicon auto analyzer (Model AA2). Chromium in feed and
excreta samples was determined using the
method of Fenton and Fenton (1979).
Total glycerides and fatty acids in feed, in
contents of the gizzard and small intestine, and
in excreta were determined by petroleum ether
extraction using a Soxhlet apparatus. To
estimate the proportion of fatty acids in the
gizzard, small intestine, and excreta that was
present as soap, the method of fat determination reported by Carroll (1958) was used.
These samples were subjected to two stages of
ether extraction. The first extraction (I) was to
remove neutral fat and fatty acids. Thimbles
containing the residue of the first extraction
were placed in 25% hydrochloric acid (specific
gravity 1.13) for about 2 hr at room temperature to liberate fatty acids present as soap.
The samples were then freeze-dried and the
process of ether extraction repeated (II). This
second ether extract was considered to represent fatty acids previously present as soap.
FATTY ACIDS AND CALCIUM
1.2% resulted in a significant decrease in diet
ME. Except with the control diet, increasing
the calcium content of the diet above 1.2%
caused a significant decrease in fat retention.
Although there was no significant difference in
the proportion of excreta fatty acids present as
soap in diets supplemented with oleic acid
irrespective of the calcium level, increasing the
calcium level above .8% with palmitic acid or
1.2% for the O/P mixture resulted in a higher
proportion of excreta fatty acid being present
as soap (Table 3). Although increasing the
calcium content of the control diets to 1.6%
resulted in a significant increase in fecal soap,
the fat content of the control diets (average
1.87%) was not high enough to influence ME of
the diets significantly. There was no significant
effect of the diet treatments on nitrogen or
phosphorus retention (Table 5).
Significant interactions (P<.05) were also
observed between types of fatty acids and
TABLE 3. Interaction between types of fatty acid
and calcium levels on metabolizable energy (ME),
fat retention, and soap formation in broiler chicks
Dietary calcium level
.8%
1.2%
1.6%
Metabolizable energy, kcal/g
Dietary types of fatty acid
Control
Oleic acid (O)
Palmitic acid (P)
50/50 O and P mixture
Standard deviation
3.06 a b
3.698
3.18 c
3.50 e
.05
3.04 a
3.67%
3.13 b c
3.51 e
3.02 a
3.60 f
3.07 a b
3.28 d
Fat retention, %
Dietary types of fatty acid
Control
Oleic acid (O)
Palmitic acid (P)
50/50 O and P mixture
Standard deviation
77.4 e 77.9 e
89.6 f
87.0 f
31.7 b 25.5 b
56.1 d 53.8 d
4.6
75.3 e
78.1 e
17.7 a
39.0C
13.4 a b 19.4 b c
7.1 a
7.6 a
56.2 e 73.6 f
34.7 d 40.4 d
4.6
21.4C
8.8 a
83.8 f
51.4 e
Fecal soap formation, %'
Types of fatty acid
Control
Oleic acid (O)
Palmitic acid (P)
50/50 O and P mixture
Standard deviation
3 b c d c f £f
> . » > . '»For ME and fecal soap formation,
means followed by different superscript(s) are significantly different (P<.01; for fat retention, <C.05).
1
Fecal ether extract II as proportion of Extracts
I plus II.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
chicks fed the control diet or diets with added
palmitic acid. Chicks fed diets with added oleic
acid exhibited a superior feed efficiency
(P<.01) compared to chicks on other treatments. The incidence of leg deformities was
higher (P<.05) among chicks on diets supplemented with oleic acid and the O/P mixture
compared to those from the control treatment.
There was no significant effect of the treatments on mortality. Also, there was no significant effect of the calcium treatment on any
of the performance parameters measured or any
interaction between types of fatty acid and
calcium levels.
Although the authors have no explanation
for the similar feed intake by chicks on the
control diet and diets supplemented with
palmitic acid, because the latter had a higher
ME (Table 3), increase in dietary ME with oleic
acid or O/P mixture supplementation caused a
decrease in feed intake. Thus, the variation in
dietary energy content between diets supplemented with oleic acid or O/P mixture
compared to the control diets or diets supplemented with palmitic acid explains the
significant difference in feed intake and also the
trend in weight gain. This result agrees with an
earlier observation by Atteh and Leeson (1983)
that showed that chicks on diets supplemented
with oleic acid consumed less feed relative to
those on a control diet or diets supplemented
with palmitic acid due to increase in dietary
ME. However, in the present study, the increase
in diet energy and weight gain by chicks fed
oleic acid was accompanied by a significant
increase in the incidence of leg deformities
when compared with that of chicks on the
control diet; this observation supports the
report of Andrews et al. (1975) that the weight
of broilers influences incidence of leg deformities. In this study, a significant correlation
(r = .8) was observed between weight gain and
incidence of leg deformities. Addition of
oleic acid to palmitic acid improved feed
utilization only marginally compared to the
effect from palmitic acid alone.
Nutrient Retention. There were significant
interactions (P<.01) between types of fatty
acid and calcium levels on ME of diets, fat
retention, and proportion of excreta fatty acid
that was present as soap (Tables 3, 4). With the
control diets, there was no significant effect of
calcium level on diet ME. However, in the
presence of fatty acid supplementation, increasing the calcium content of the diets above
2255
2256
ATTEH AND LEESON
TABLE 4. Summary of analysis of variance for parameters listed in Table 3
MS]
Source
df
ME1
Fat retention
Fecal soap
Dietary types of fatty acids (F)
Calcium level (Ca)
CaXF
Residual
3
2
6
33
.956***
.058***
.010**
.003
8952.61***
542.85***
49.32*
20.73
9544.61***
731.99***
136.29**
21.65
1
MS = Mean square; ME = metabolizable energy.
*'Significant (P<.01).
***Significant(P<.001).
calcium levels for both calcium and magnesium
retention (Tables 6, 7). Calcium retention
followed a trend similar to that previously
observed with diet ME and fat retention. There
was a significant reduction in calcium retention
at high calcium levels in palmitic acid containing diets. An increase in dietary calcium
content of the control diets resulted in a
significant decrease in magnesium retention,
although this effect was not seen in the presence of supplemental fatty acids, with the
exception of palmitic acid.
Results of the nutrient retention trial
revealed that energy from palmitic acid was not
well utilized compared to that from oleic acid.
There has been considerable discussion on the
subject of synergism between saturated and
unsaturated fatty acids as it influences ME
values of poultry diets (Sibbald et al., 1961;
Cullen et al., 1962; Jensen et al., 1970). Young
and Garret (1963) also reported that increasing
the amount of oleic acid in relation to palmitic
acid resulted in a linear increase in absorption
of palmitic acid. In the present study, there is
little evidence to show that utilization of
palmitic acid was improved substantially when
oleic acid constituted 42.6% and palmitic acid
41.6% of the total fat in the diet as judged by
TABLE 6. Interaction between types of fatty acid
and calcium levels on calcium and magnesium
retention by broiler chicks
TABLE 5. Effects of dietary saturated and
unsaturated fatty acids and calcium levels on nitrogen
and phosphorus retention by broiler chicks
Dietary
treatments
Nitrogen
retention
Phosphorus
retention
(%)
>ietary types of fatty
acid (F)
Control
Oleic acid (O)
Palmitic acid (P)
50/50 O/P mixture
NS1
NS
66.4
70.0
67.6
69.5
38.7
41.3
42.5
40.7
Calcium (Ca)
NS
NS
66.8
68.8
67.5
39.2
42.0
41.1
NS
1.5
NS
4.2
.8%
1.2%
1.6%
!a X fatty acid
tandard deviation
1
NS = No significant difference (P>.05).
Dietary calcium
.8%
1.2%
1.6%
55.5 c d
55.9 c d
45.3b
45.2 b
48.9bc
49.5bc
25.7*
32.2*
27.6bc
30.9 b c
28.2bc
28.3bc
20.1 a
28.3be
25.4ab
32.4 b c
Calcium retention, %
Dietary types of fatty acid
Control
60.8 d
Oleic acid (O)
57.3cd
Palmitic acid (P)
51.80c
50/50 O/P mixture 5 2 . 9 b c d
Standard deviation
5.5
Magnesium retention, %
Dietary types of fatty
Control
Oleic acid (O)
Palmitic acid (P)
50/50 O/P mixture
Standard deviation
acid
33.9 C
31.8 C
29.3 C
30.1 e
4.2
' ' ' For both calcium and magnesium retention,
means followed by different superscripts are significantly different (P<.05).
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
•Significant (P<.05).
FATTY ACIDS AND CALCIUM
TABLE 7. Summary of analysis of variance for
calcium and magnesium retention
MS
Source
Dietary types of
fatty acids (F)
Calcium level (Ca)
Ca X F
Residual
3
2
6
33
Magnesium
retention
638.83***
34.11NS
1157.75**** 90.41**
77.03*
48.83*
30.41
17.37
MS = Mean square.
the fat retention and ME of the diets supplemented with this mixture. Increasing the
calcium content of the diets seems to be
detrimental not only to fat and energy utilization but also to calcium retention. This is
mainly due to the problem of soap formation,
which seems to increase with an increase in
dietary calcium level, especially with saturated
fatty acids.
Although oleic and palmitic acid and their
mixture form considerable quantities of soap,
as judged by the proportion of the intestinal
fatty acids that were present as soap, there is
strong evidence to show that soaps of oleic acid
are effectively absorbed while those of palmitic
acid are not absorbed to a large extent (Table
8). Thus, despite the fact that up to 32% of
intestinal fatty acids of chicks fed diets sup-
plemented with oleic acid were present as soap,
only about 8% of the excreta fatty acid was
present as soap, indicating that most of the
soaps that were formed were subsequently
utilized. This observation supports an earlier
report of Boyd et al. (1932) showing 90%
utilization of calcium oleate by white rats. The
converse seems to be true for palmitic acid, as
the proportion of fatty acid that occurred as
soap increased progressively from about 12% in
the gizzard to an average of 71.2% in the
excreta of chicks fed this diet. For chicks fed
palmitic acid, there was a larger proportion of
the intestinal fatty acid present as soap compared with chicks fed oleic acid. This could be
due to inherent problem of poor utilization of
palmitic acid, as reported by Hamilton and
McDonald (1969) and Sibbald and Kramer
(1980), which increased contact of palmitic
acid with minerals relative to oleic acid. Thus,
the process of soap formation seems to be a
natural occurrence for fatty acids during digestion, and ability or inability to absorb such
formed soap significantly affects utilization of
the fatty acid involved.
Considerable modification of the fatty acid
composition of the digesta occurred in relation
to diet composition. As shown in Table 9, the
changes are even noticeable in the fatty acid
make up of the gizzard content. In diets supplemented with oleic acid, oleic acid content of
the fatty acids present as soap reached a peak in
the small intestine with lower levels subsequently seen in the excreta. In contrast, palmitic
TABLE 8. Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids as they relate to soap formation during digestion and
fat retention in broiler chicks
Diets with supplemental
Oleic
acid
(O)
Palmitic
acid
(P)
O/P
Mixture
7.2
86.7
9.6
82.9
12.1
83.6
9.6
29.5
32.4
59.0
44.2
17.6
7.8
71.2
42.2
93.3
76.9
92.1
84.9
86.8
25.0
85.8
49.6
Control
Proportion of total fatty acid in diet fat, %
Fat of gizzard content existing as soap as a proportion of
total fat in gizzard content, %
Intestinal fat as soap as a proportion of total intestinal
fat, %
Excreta fat as a soap as proportion of total fat extracted
from excreta, %
Crude fat retention using first fecal extraction alone, %
Crude fat retention using total of first and second fecal
ether extract, %
ME1 contribution to control diet, kcal/g
1
ME = Metabolizable energy.
.61
+.08
+.39
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
1
df
Calcium
retention
2257
2258
ATTEH AND LEESON
TABLE 9. Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids as they relate to fatty acid make-up of nonsoap fat and soap
fat during digestion in broiler chicks
Diets with supplemental
1
Palmitic acid
(P)
O
P
86.7 ± 1.4
82.9 ± 1.2
4 2 . 6 ± 1.1
4 1 . 0 ± 1.2
8 4 . 0 ± 3.0
7 5 . 6 + 4.7
4 8 . 8 ± 1.8
37.6 + 2.8
6 7 . 6 + 2.8
80.1 ± 4.1
22.0 + 1.3
56.6 ± 2.6
76.9 ± 4 . 3
6 2 . 8 ± 2.4
57.0 + 4.1
26.5 ± 1.9
7 7 . 6 ± 3.4
85.6 + 3.3
14.9 ± 2.0
69.2 ± 4 . 0
70.1 ± 3.8
6 5 . 2 ± 3.1
6 0 . 0 + 2.9
23.0 ± 2.3
6 1 . 5 + 3.6
9 0 . 9 ± 3.4
11.5 ± 1.9
72.7 ± 4.6
Each value is average + standard deviation of 12 samples analyzed.
acid c o n t e n t of f a t t y acids present as soap
increased progressively from t h e gizzard through
t o t h e excreta. These observations confirm t h a t
soaps of oleic acid were b e t t e r utilized com-
TABLE 10. Effects of dietary saturated and
unsaturated fatty acids and calcium levels on
hone ash, hone calcium, and phosphorus content
of broiler chicks
Dietary treatments
Bone
ash1
PhosCalcium2 phorus 2
KT°)
Dietary types of f a t t y
acid
Control
Oleic acid (O)
Palmitic acid (P)
5 0 / 5 0 O and P m i x t u r e
*
**
NS3
40.5°
40.7D
39.2a
40.2b
33.4°
32.5b
29.3a
30.1a
14.2
14.4
15.0
14.7
Calcium (Ca)
.8%
1.2%
1.6%
NS
39.7
40.6
40.5
NS
31.4
31.6
32.0
NS
14.4
14.9
14.5
Ca X F a t t y acid
Standard deviation
NS
1.3
NS
2.0
NS
.8
a b
' W i t h i n m a i n treat m e n t categories, m e a n s within
c o l u m n followed b y different super scrip t(s) are
significantly different (* P < . 0 5 : '• * P < . 0 1 )
1
2
On d r y , fat free basis.
Percentage of bone ash.
3
NS = No significant difference (P>.05).
pared with t h o s e of palmitic acid. As t h e
palmitic acid c o n t e n t of t h e soap fat increased,
its p r o p o r t i o n of t h e n o n s o a p fat decreased.
T h e r e is evidence to suggest t h a t soaps of
individual f a t t y acids in t h e O/P m i x t u r e were
absorbed i n d e p e n d e n t of each o t h e r . A b sorption of soaps of palmitic acid was little
improved by t h e presence of 4 2 . 6 % oleic acid in
t h e dietary fat. T h u s , palmitic acid c o n s t i t u t e d
72.7% of ether e x t r a c t II of excreta as against
only 11.5% b y oleic acid (Table 9).This would
explain why an increase in oleic acid c o n t e n t of
t h e diet (with t h e O/P m i x t u r e ) did n o t imp r o v e t h e e n e r g y a n d t a t ut:ilization to the level
observed
w i t h o l e i c acid
supplementation.
TABLE 11.
and calcium
Interaction between types of fatty acids
levels; on b>one m agnesium content of
broiler chicks
Dietary types of
fatty acid
Control
Oleic acid (O)
Palmitic acid (P)
5 0 / 5 0 O and P m i x t u r e
S t a n d a r d deviation
D i e t a r y calcium
.8%
1.2%
1.6%
.62c
.60c
.59bc
.62c
.55ab
.61c
.62C
.58bc
.52a
.59bc
.61c
.57abc
.04
' ' Means followed by different
are significantly different (P<.05).
superscript(s)
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
Proportion of total fatty acid
in diet fat, %
Fatty acid make up of nonsoap
fat of gizzard content, %
Fatty acid make up of soap fat
of gizzard content, %
Fatty acid make up of nonsoap
of intestinal content, %
Fatty acid make-up of soap fat
of intestinal content, %
Fatty acid make up of nonsoap
fat in excreta, %
Fatty acid make up of soap fat
in excreta, %
O/P Mixture
(O)
2259
FATTY ACIDS AND CALCIUM
TABLE 12. Summary of analysis of variance for
bone magnesium
Source
df
MS1
Dietary types of fatty acids (F)
Calcium level (Ca)
Ca X F
Residual
3
2
6
33
.0042*
.0051*
.004*
.0015
1
MS = Mean square.
•Significant (P<.05).
REFERENCES
Andrews, L. D., G. S. Nelson, G. C. Harris, Jr., and T.
L. Godwin, 1975. Performance of five strains of
broilers in a four tier cage system with plastic
mat floors. Poultry Sci. 54:54—58.
Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 1980.
Pages 21, 447 in Official Methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 13th
ed. Washington, DC.
Atteh, J. O., and S. Leeson, 1983. Effects of dietary
fatty acids and calcium levels on performance
and mineral metabolism of broiler chickens.
Poultry Sci. 62:2412-2419.
Atteh, J. O., S. Leeson, and R. J. Julian, 1983. Effects
of dietary levels and types of fat on performance
and mineral metabolism of broiler chicks. Poultry
Sci. 62:2403-2411.
Boyd, S. F., C. L. Crum, and J. F. Lyman, 1932. The
absorption of calcium soaps and the relation of
dietary fat to calcium utilization in the white rat.
J.Biol. Chem. 9 5 : 2 9 - 4 1 .
Carroll, K. K., 1958. Digestibility of individual fatty
acids in the rat. J. Nutr. 64:399—410.
Corino, C , V. Dell'orto and, O. Pedron, 1980. Effect
of the acid composition of fats and oils on the
nutritive efficiency of broiler feeds. Rev. Zootec.
Vet. 2:94-98.
Cullen, M. P., O. G. Rasmussen, and O.H.M. Wilder,
1962. Metabolizable energy value and utilization
of different types and grades of fat by the chick.
Poultry Sci. 41:360-367.
Dewar, W. A., C. C Whitehead, J. N. Downie, and E.
Potter, 1975. The retention of calcium, iron,
magnesium and zinc in chicks fed on diets
containing metal soaps. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 34:
5A-6A.
Duncan, D. B., 1955. Multiple range and multiple F
tests. Biometrics 11:1—42.
Fenton, T. W., and M. Fenton, 1979. An improved
procedure for determination of chromic oxide in
feed and feces. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 59:631—634.
o
Hakansson, J., 1975a. The effect of fat on calcium,
phosphorus and magnesium in laying hens. Swed.
J. Agric. Res. 5 : 3 - 9 .
o
Hakansson, J., 1975b. The effect of fat on calcium,
phosphorus and magnesium balances in chicks.
Swed. J. Agric. Res. 5:145-157.
Hamilton, R.M.G., and B. E. McDonald, 1969. Effect
of dietary fat source on the apparent digestibility
of fat and composition of fecal lipids of the
young pig. J. Nutr. 9 7 : 3 3 - 4 1 .
Horani, F., and J. L. Sell, 1977. Effect of feed grade
animal fat on laying hen performance and in
metabolizable energy of rations. Poultry Sci.
56:1972-1980.
Hurwitz, S., A. Bar, M. Katz, D. Sklan, and P. Budowski, 1973. Absorption and secretion of fatty
acids and bile acids in the intestine of the laying
fowl. J. Nutr. 103:543-547.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
Thus, there is little evidence of fatty acid
synergism in this present study.
Bone Ash and Minerals. There was a significant decrease in bone ash only in chicks fed
diets supplemented with plamitic acid (Table
10). Although the calcium content of the tibia
of chicks fed diets supplemented with palmitic
acid and the O/P mixture were not significantly
different, they were lower (P<.01) than observed for chicks fed the control diet or with
supplemental oleic acid (Table 10). There was
no significant effect of calcium treatment on
bone ash or bone calcium; treatments per se
had no significant effect on bone phosphorus.
(Table 10). An interaction (P<.05) between
type of fatty acid and calcium level was observed for bone magnesium (Tables 11, 12); the
trend was similar to that observed previously
with magnesium retention.
The decrease in bone ash and bone calcium
with palmitic acid supplementation is attributed to a decrease in calcium retention associated with excessive soap formation, as
reported by Dewar et al. (1975) and Atteh and
Leeson (1983). There is no evidence to show
that increasing the calcium content of the diet
to 1.6% alleviated the problem (Table 6),
and this result was reflected in bone ash and
bone calcium content. Increasing the calcium
content of the diets in the absence of fatty acid
supplementation reduced the magnesium content of the bone, confirming earlier observations by Hakansson (1975b) and Atteh and
Leeson (1983). Because the decrease in calcium
retention associated with fatty acid supplementation was accompanied by an improvement in magnesium retention (Table 6), the
overall result is an increase in the bone magnesium content.
The study indicated that no substantial
improvement in utilization of palmitic acid was
accomplished with an increase in oleic acid
content of the diet. Increasing the calcium
content of diets aggravated the problem of soap
formation and did not improve bone calcification especially with palmitic acid.
2260
ATTEH AND LEESON
Renner, R., and F. W. Hill, 1961. Utilization of fatty
acids by the chicken. J. Nutr. 74:259—264.
Sibbald, I. R., andJ.K.G. Kramer, 1980. The effect of
basal diet on the utilization of fat as a source of
true metabolizable energy. Lipid and fatty acids.
Poultry Sci. 59:316-324.
Sibbald, I. R., S. J. Slinger, and G. S. Ashton, 1961.
Factors affecting the metabolizable energy of
poultry Feeds. 2. Variability in die ME values
attributed to samples of tallow, and undegummed
soybean oil. Poultry Sci. 4 0 : 3 0 3 - 3 0 8 .
Summers, J. D., and S. Leeson, 1980. The utilization
of animal tallow as influenced by the addition of
various levels of unsaturated fat. Nutr. Rep. Int.
21:755-759.
Whitehead, C. C , W. A. Dewar, and J. N. Downie,
1971. Effect of dietary fat on mineral retention
in the chick. Br. Poult. Sci. 12:249-254.
Young, R. J., and R. L. Garrett, 1963. Effect of oleic
and linoleic acids on the absorption of saturated
fatty acids in the chick. J. Nutr. 81:321-329.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Penn State University (Paterno Lib) on May 18, 2016
Jensen, L. S., G. W. Schumaier, and J. D. Latshaw,
1970. "Extra caloric" effect of diet fat for
developing turkeys as influenced by calorieprotein ratio. Poultry Sci. 49:1697-1704.
Lall, S. P., and S. J. Slinger, 1973. The metabolizable
energy content of rapeseed oils and rapeseed oil
foods and the effect of blending with other fats.
Poultry Sci. 52:143-151.
Leeson, S., and J. D. Summers, 1976. Fat ME values:
The effect of fatty acid saturation. Feedstuffs
48(46):26-28.
Mateos, G. G., and J. L. Sell, 1980. Influence of fat on
energy utilization from selected carbohydrates.
Poultry Sci. 59:1635.
Miller, W. S., 1974. The determination of metabolizable energy. Pages 91 — 112 in Energy Requirements of Poultry. T. R. Morris and B. M.
Freeman, ed. Br. Poult. Sci. Ltd., Edinburgh.
Renner, R., and F. W. Hill, 1960. The utilization of
corn oil, lard and tallow by chickens of various
ages. Poultry Sci. 39:849-854.