skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Effect of high dietary copper on fatty acid composition of the chick

Journal Article · · Poult. Sci.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.0550122· OSTI ID:5443112

Three experiments were conducted to study the effect of varying levels of dietary copper on fatty acid composition of adipose and liver tissue of male broiler chicks. Chicks were fed the experimental diets to 4 weeks at which time leg adipose and liver samples were obtained for fatty acid determination. Adding 500 or more ppm copper to either a practical or corn starch-soy basal diet caused significant changes in fatty acid composition, but the differences were variable perhaps due to a depression of growth caused by these levels of copper. Fatty acid composition of the tissues was not greatly affected by adding 250 ppm of copper to the practical diet which contained 1.5% poultry fat. When a corn starch-soy diet was fed with 0, 2, or 8% added corn oil, the ratio of 16:0 + 18:0 to 16:1 to 18:1 was not lowered in leg adipose lipids by copper supplementation (250 ppm) with any level of added corn oil. With liver lipids copper appeared to reduce the ratios in birds fed the diets with 0 or 2% added corn oil, but the differences were not statistically significant. The results indicate that using copper levels in practical diets that do not depress growth rate will not have much effect on fatty acid composition of carcass lipids and probably not on physical characteristics of the fat. 13 references, 11 tables.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
OSTI ID:
5443112
Journal Information:
Poult. Sci.; (United States), Vol. 55:1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English