title: Increased fatty acid β-oxidation as a possible mechanism for fat-reducing effect of betaine in broilers.
abstract: Two hundred and forty 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chickens were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments with six replicates of eight chickens per replicate cage for a 42-day feeding trial. Broiler chickens were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0 (control), 250, 500, 750 or 1000 mg/kg betaine, respectively. Growth performance was not affected by betaine. Incremental levels of betaine decreased the absolute and relative weight of abdominal fat (linear P < 0.05, quadratic P < 0.01), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) (linear P < 0.05), and increased concentration of nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) (linear P = 0.038, quadratic P = 0.003) in serum of broilers. Moreover, incremental levels of betaine increased linearly (P < 0.05) the proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), the carnitine palmitoyl transferase-I (CPT-I) and 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HADH) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression, but decreased linearly (P < 0.05) the fatty acid synthase (FAS) and 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMGR) mRNA expression in liver of broilers. In conclusion, this study indicated that betaine supplementation did not affect growth performance of broilers, but was effective in reducing abdominal fat deposition in a dose-dependent manner, which was probably caused by combinations of a decrease in fatty acid synthesis and an increase in β-oxidation.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Zhixian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Liren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Yanmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism*; D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001622:Betaine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000378:metabolism; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D047493:PPAR alpha; D014280:Triglycerides; D001622:Betaine
keywords: betaine; broiler; fat deposition; fatty acid β-oxidation