SUPPLEMENTATION WITH CAPSICUM-BASED ADDITIVE IN STARTER FEEDS IMPROVES BROILER PERFORMANCE BY INCREASING NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY

Previous studies have shown that the phytogenic additive based on capsaicin LUCTAROM® Convert (LOM) improves broiler chicken performance. Recent studies show that in addition to antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, phytogenic additives can also improve animal performance by enhancing digestive enzyme secretions. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of LOM in starter diets on broiler performance, nutrient apparent ileal digestibility (AID), and pancreatic enzyme activities to test the hypotheses that this additive improves animal performance by favoring digestive processes. For this purpose, 480 male broiler chickens (Cobb 500), with an initial average live weight of 42.6 ± 0.06 g, were randomly assigned to 2 experimental treatments, a control diet (C) without additives and a diet supplemented with 250 ppm of LOM, with a total of 12 experimental units/treatment (20 chickens/pen). Animals were fed ad libitum their respective diets for three weeks and then samples of ileal content and pancreas were taken for digestibility and enzymatic analysis respectively. In the period from 0 to 7 days of age, a higher average daily gain (ADG) was observed in chickens fed with LOM (P < 0.05), which resulted in a higher body weight (BW) (173 vs 177 g for C and LOM respectively; P < 0.05). Despite BW was numerically higher in the following periods measured, and at 20 days of age it was 973 vs 982 g for C and LOM respectively, it did not reach statistical significance. The AID of Dry Matter (DM), Gross Energy (GE) and Crude Protein (CP) at 21 d of age was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in broilers fed LOM. Finally, no significant differences were observed in pancreatic trypsin and lipase activities, but amylase activity tended to be higher in birds fed LOM (174 vs. 254 U/mL for C and LOM respectively; P = 0.06). It is concluded that LOM positive effects on weight gain might be attributable, at least partly, to an improvement in nutrient digestibility probably by enhancing amylase activity.