Effects of Dietary Exogenous Hydrophilic Emulsifier Supplementation on Growth Performance and Carcass Traits in Broilers

The effects of dietary exogenous hydrophilic emulsifiers on the growth, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics of broilers were evaluated. A total of 200 one-day-old broilers (Ross 308) were allotted to one of four treatment groups in a randomized complete block design in five replicates with 10 birds per pen during a 5-week growth experimental period. Birds were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet with or without the addition of 0.025, 0.050, or 0.075% exogenous hydrophilic emulsifiers. The diets contained 3,025 and 3,075 metabolizable energy/kg for Phases 1 and 2, respectively. For each phase and the overall experimental period, body weight gain (linear, P <0.05) and feed conversion ratio (linear, P <0.05) improved in proportion to the dietary exogenous hydrophilic emulsifier level, while the average daily feed intake was not affected by dietary treatment. Improvement in growth performance by dietary treatments was observed during the last two weeks rather than the first three weeks of the growth phase. In carcass traits, abdominal fat content increased as dietary exogenous hydrophilic emulsifier level increased (linear, P <0.05), whereas dietary emulsifier level did not affect the relative weight of the liver, breast, and leg muscles. In conclusion, addition of dietary exogenous hydrophilic emulsifiers from 0 to 0.075% in broiler diets improved the growth rate and feed efficiency of broilers without any deleterious effects on nutrient digestibility, although a corn-soybean meal-based diet had less energy content (3,025 and 3,075 metabolizable energy/kg) for 0-3 weeks and 3-5 weeks, respectively.