Comparative effect of DL-methionine and DL-methionine hydroxy analogue supplemented diet on productive performance, fat accumulation and lipid profile in blood of meat-type ducks

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of DL-methionine (DLM) and DL-methionine hydroxy
analogue (DL-MHA) supplementation on the growth performance, carcass quality, fat accumulation and lipid profile
in blood of meat-type duck. Three hundred male Cherry Valley ducks were divided into 3 groups with 4 replications
of 25 ducklings each. Each group was given a diet as follows: 1) basal diet, 2) basal diet + DLM, and 3) basal diet + DLMHA. The results show that dietary supplementation with DLM and DL-MHA increased body weight (P<0.01), feed
intake (P<0.01) and pectoralis major (P<0.05), but decreased abdominal fat (P<0.01) when compared to the basal diet.
Supplementation with DL-MHA also resulted in greater levels of triglycerides (P<0.05), low-density lipoprotein
(P<0.05) and cholesterol (P<0.05) in the blood compared to the DLM group, in addition to greater levels of triglycerides
(P<0.05) and high-density lipoprotein (P<0.05) compared to the basal diet. Furthermore, supplementation with DLM
was shown to lower the level of plasma uric acid (P<0.05) compared to the basal diet. It is concluded that DL-MHA can
promote the same productive performance in meat-type ducks as DLM, but the fat accumulation and lipid profile in
blood was greater with the DL-MHA supplementation than with DLM. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism of
different effects between DL-MHA and DLM on the lipid metabolism in ducks should be further investigated.