Herbal Choline as an alternative to Choline Chloride in broiler diets

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of substituting choline chloride with a herbal source of choline on the growth performance, serum biochemistry and gut health in broilers aged 1-42 days of age. In this study, 450 one-day-old Vencobb 430 broiler chicks were allocated to three treatment groups and provided with commercial diets formulated using corn and soybean meal as the primary ingredients. The treatments included basal diet without herbal or synthetic choline (control), choline in the form of synthetic choline chloride (commercial) @ 1000g/ton of feed (T1) and choline in the form of herbal choline chloride @ 500 g/ton of feed (T2). Each treatment group had five replications. During the experimental period, data on body weight, weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and mortality were collected from the birds at 11, 22, and 42 days of age. Serum biochemical attributes such as protein, creatinine, uric acid, SGOT and SGPT levels were estimated on 22^nd and 42^nd day of age. After slaughter, gut histology parameters such as duodenal villi height, villi width and crypt depth were assessed. The findings revealed a highly significant (P < 0.001) enhancement in the feed conversion ratio and European Production Efficiency Factor in broilers. No significant differences in body weight, weight gain, or feed intake were observed among treatments, indicating that plant-based choline supplementation prevented choline deficiency. Similarly, serum biochemical values did not differ among groups. The villi width significantly increased and crypt depth significantly decreased in herbal choline supplemented treatment group. Overall, the tested herbal choline can effectively replace choline chloride without compromise the zootechnical performance in broilers.