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Evaluating A Polyherbal Choline Substitute: Impacts on Performance, Liver Health, and Fat Content in Broilers

Bhagwat VG || Santoshkumar T || Varun Kumar K

Country - India

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Choline, an essential vitamin found in phospholipids, is gaining traction in poultry research. While synthetic choline chloride (CCL) has been the go-to source, its limitations have spurred the quest for natural alternatives. This study explored a polyherbal formulation (PHF) as a potential CCL substitute in broiler diets. Impact of PHF evaluated on performance, liver health, and abdominal and liver fat content in 200 Cobb 430 Y chicks. Five groups, each with 40 birds, received either a control diet or a control diet supplemented with CCL (1000 g/ton), a combination of CCL and Liv.52 Protec powder (LPP) (250 g/ton), or two different PHF inclusion levels (500 and 750 g/ton).Interestingly, birds fed diets containing either CCL or PHF displayed improved body weight (up to 7.30% increase) and feed conversion ratio (FCR), meaning they required less feed to gain 1 kg of weight gain compared to the control group. Notably, the 500 g/ton PHF group boasted the most impressive gains in carcass traits. Furthermore, both PHF inclusion levels yielded similar benefits for liver enzymes as the standard CCL supplementation.Based on these findings, PHF holds promise as a 500 g/ton replacement for synthetic CCL in broiler diets. This potentially unlocks an alternative that maintains performance and supports liver health.