Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (1): 282-293.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2026.01.024

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Starch with Different Digestion Rates on Dietary Energy and Protein Utilization in Broilers

TIAN Kai(), YE Xiaomeng, REN Cong, WANG Yuming, XIE Jingjing, ZHAO Feng()   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding,Institute of Animal Science,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Beijing 100193,China
  • Received:2024-12-12 Online:2026-01-23 Published:2026-01-26
  • Contact: ZHAO Feng E-mail:tk2806092201@163.com;zhaofeng@caas.cn

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of starch with different digestion rates on dietary energy and protein utilization in broilers. Eight dietary treatments from each of 4 starches with different digestion rates including cassava starch (kd=4.29 h-1), wheat starch (kd=2.51 h-1), corn starch (kd=2.55 h-1), and pea starch (kd=1.03 h-1) combined with soybean meal or corn gluten meal were arranged in a single-factor completely randomized experiment. In the study on the effects of starch with different digestion rates on nitrogen retention and metabolizable energy of diets, a total of 192 Arbor Acres plus broilers of 22 days of age with similar body weight (BW=1 050±6 g) were selected and randomly assigned to 8 diets. Each treatment contained 6 replicates of 4 broilers in each replicate. The energy metabolizability and nitrogen retention rates were determined for diets fed to broilers aged 25 to 28 days. In the study on the effects of starch with different digestion rates on apparent ileal digestibility of starch and standardized ileal digestibility of amino acid (SIDAA) of diets, a total of 432 Arbor Acres plus broilers of 25 days of age with similar body weight (BW=1 270±10 g) were selected and randomly assigned to 8 diets and a nitrogen-free diet. Each treatment contained 6 replicates of 8 broilers in each replicate. The apparent ileal digestibility of starch and SIDAA were determined for diets fed to broilers at 28 days of age. The results showed as follows: 1) In the starch-soybean meal diets, the apparent ileal digestibility of starch in diets of moderately digestible starch (wheat starch and corn starch) were greater than these in diet of rapidly or slowly digestible starch (cassava starch or pea starch) (P<0.05). The apparent ileal digestibility of starch in rapidly digestible starch (cassava starch) diet was greater than that in slowly digestible starch (pea starch) diet (P<0.05). The diets of rapidly or moderately digestible starch (cassava starch, corn starch and wheat starch) had greater energy metabolizability than slowly digestible starch (pea starch) diet (P<0.05). Starch with different digestion rates didn’t significantly affect the SIDAA of soybean meal. The nitrogen retention rate of corn starch diet was higher than other 3 starch diets (P<0.05). 2) In the starch-corn gluten meal diets, the apparent ileal digestibility of starch in diets of moderately digestible starch (wheat starch and corn starch) were greater than these in diet of rapidly or slowly digestible starch (cassava starch or pea starch) (P<0.05). The moderately digestible starch (corn starch) diet had greater energy metabolizability than diet of rapidly or slowly digestible starch (cassava starch or pea starch) (P<0.05). Compared with rapidly digestible starch (cassava starch), moderately digestible starch (wheat starch and corn starch) enhanced the standardized ileal digestibility of 13 amino acids and total amino acids in corn gluten meal (P<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was observed in nitrogen retention rate across diets with different digestion rates of starch. 3) A significant linear regression relationship between apparent metabolizable energy or nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy and digestible starch and metabolizable protein was observed in the 8 experimental diets (P<0.05). The dietary energy metabilizablility and total amino acid digestibility decreased as the increase of the ratio of starch digestibility to total amino acid digestibility (P<0.05). In conclusion, starches with moderate digestion rates (wheat starch, corn starch) have higher ileal digestibility of starch and dietary energy metabolizability compared to slowly digestible starch (pea starch). However, when rapidly digestible starch (cassava starch) is combined with rapidly digestible protein (corn gluten meal), the ileal digestibility of starch, dietary energy metabolizability and amino acid digestibility in broilers is reduced. Generally, the ratio of starch digestibility to total amino acid digestibility is negatively related with the energy metabolizability and amino acid digestibility.

Key words: starch, digestion rate, protein utilization, broiler

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