Indian Journal of Poultry Science

The present trial was conducted to study the ratio of unsaturated (UFA) to saturated (SFA) fatty acids (60:40, 65:35, 70:30 and 75:25) with or without L-carnitine supplementation (100mg/Kg diet) on the performance male broiler chicks. A total of 320 day old male broiler chicks were divided into 8 treatments with eight replicate and five birds each. UFA: SFA ratio with or without carnitine did not had significant (P>0.05) effect on various carcass yields except for abdominal fat percentage which was significantly reduced in 75:25 ratio with carnitine. Liver moisture content was significantly (P<0.05) higher for 60:40 ratio of UFA: SFA. Significantly (P<0.05) higher moisture content of light muscle was observed at 65:35 and 75:25, whereas for dark muscle it was observed at 70:30 ratio. Carnitine supplementation to UFA: SFA diets significantly (P<0.05) increased moisture content of dark muscle, whereas in light muscle it resulted in significant (P<0.05) reduction of moisture percentage. Carnitine supplementation significantly (P<0.05) reduced fat content of liver, light and dark muscles at 70:30 ratios compared to others. Serum triglycerides concentration was significantly low (P<0.05) for 70: 30 ratio of UFA: SFA at 12 hrs fasting whereas, the concentration of triglycerides and cholesterol at 3hrs fasting was significantly (P<0.05) low for at 65:35 UFA: SFA ratio. However carnitine supplementation reduced triglycerides and cholesterol in serum.