Impact of the arginine silicate inositol complex on bone metabolism in broiler chickens with tibial dyschondroplasia caused by manganese deficiency

ABSTRACT

1. Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is a skeletal disorder in broilers that has financial implications, necessitating dietary modifications to reduce the prevalence of this disease. This study explored how arginine silicate inositol complex (ASI) supplementation affected tibial growth plate (TGP) and overall bone health in broilers with manganese (Mn) deficiency-induced TD.

2. A total of 240 broiler chicks were divided into four groups, each consisting of 60 birds (15 replicates of four broilers each) as follows: i) Control, with 60 mg Mn per kg of diet; ii) ASI, with 60 mg Mn and 1 g ASI per kg of diet; iii) TD, with 22 mg Mn per kg of diet, and iv) TD+ASI, with 22 mg Mn and 1 g ASI per kg of diet.

3. It was found that ASI supplementation increased tibial bone length in Mn-deficient TD broilers (p = 0.007). There was no Mn x ASI interaction for other bone morphometry variables (p > 0.05). However, both tibial bone mineral content and density were affected by Mn and ASI (p < 0.05). With ASI supplementation, serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin levels were elevated in the TD+ASI group compared to the TD group (p < 0.001). In the TD group, osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels in the TGP decreased compared to the control groups (p < 0.001).

4. In contrast, ASI supplementation in the TD broilers counteracted the decrease in OPG compared to TD broilers without ASI supplementation (p < 0.001). The Mn level and ASI supplementation significantly influenced the OPG/receptor activator of the nuclear factor-κB ligand ratio (p < 0.001).

5. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that inclusion of ASI in broiler diets could enhance bone formation variables by controlling OPG levels in the TGP, potentially serving as an effective method to decrease the occurrence of TD.

KEYWORDS:

• Broiler
• tibial dyschondroplasia
• arginine silicate inositol complex
• bone quality
• molecular mechanism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Authors’ contributions

Conceptualisation: KS and MD; Methodology: KS and CO; Formal Analysis: KS, MD, TAB, IHO, CO, and FE; Investigation: KS, MD, ES, and HHI; Data Curation: KS, CO, and MD; Writing – Original Draft Preparation: KS and ES; Writing – reviewing and editing: KS. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This project was partly funded by Turkish Academy of Science (Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi). The funding body was not involved in the project design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, writing or the decision to submit it for publication.