Role of Methionine in Poultry and its supplementation by using Polyherbals

Methionine, As we know very well is an essential amino acid meaning it is not required by the body and has to be supplemented from outside. Which means that a bird needs it from sources like feed which opens the doors of business for all those industries which produce methionine. If it would have been like other amino acids which are non-essential and produced by the body we certainly would not have been interested in its business and discussing about Herbal Methionine. Methionine is non polar i.e. its chargeless and it contains sulphur, the presence of sulfur again makes it first limiting amino acid by the birds body. The methionine holds a number of vital functions like protein synthesis, glutathione precursor formation, regulation of cell division and most importantly it is a methyl donor.

 

Conventional poultry diets are typically corn and soybean meal based. Grains are typically low in lysine, and legumes (e.g., soybeans) are low in methionine. With this combination of feed ingredients, methionine is typically the first limiting amino acid. One way of meeting the methionine requirement is to feed excessIIe protein so that the daily intake of methionine is met. This results in an excess of nitrogen excretion and is not environmentally friendly. The use of synthetic methionine in poultry diets makes it possible to feed lower levels of dietary protein that still meet the daily methionine requirement

 

There may be two options for methionine supplementation, one is to supplement the bird directly by methionine and the other which will make the birds physiological system to help in methionine synthesis. It is good to have a system of feeding which ensures sufficient production of methionine by the body itself. Though currently we do not claim Herbal Methionine to be a complete replacement but it certainly proves excellent when supplemented by reducing the doses of synthetic methionine. There is synergistic response of methionine and Herbal Methionine.

 

Methionine is one of the few amino acids that contain sulfur, and sulfur is a major constituent of feathers. If bird diets are deficient in any single amino acid, it will most likely be methionine. An adequate level of methionine is required in the diet and a deficiency results in reduced growth and feather development. A methionine deficient bird will tend to eat feathers in an attempt to satisfy a craving for this amino acid. A bird may even pull them from its own body.

 

 

 A methionine deficiency typically leads to poor feed conversion, retarded growth in meat birds, and reduced egg production in layers. Methionine is required to provide the building blocks for immune cells and tissues. This includes the nonspecific mechanisms such as the skin and mucosa, and the specific mechanisms that include T and B lymphocytes. This is particularly important for newly hatched chicks that are highly susceptible to infection during the first two weeks of life.

 

Ayurvet’s Methiorep, a herbal methionine supplement has proven its efficacy worldwide and is among the global leaders of the herbal methionine. Methiorep is a scientifically developed combination of herbs that contains herbal ingredients rich in Methionine in free form and as conjugated form.  Methiorep also contains SAMe and phosphatidyl choline required for conversion of Homocysteine to methionine. This SAMe present in Methiorep acts as methyl donor and helps in formation of homocysteine. Methionase like substances present in Methiorep helps in conversion of homocysteine to methionine.  This cycle ensures that more methionine is available for protein accretion and other functions of birds, which in turn results in maximum performance.

 

 

 

Methiorep Supplementation Improves Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) that increases the feed efficiency and thereby reducing the feed consumption required for producing unit quantity of meat produced. A scientific report says, for production of 1Kg Live Broiler Weight, 12.8% Methiorep supplement feed is required than DL-Methionine Supplemented Feed. Thus saves nearly 13% feed Input Cost for a fixed production quantity.

 

 

Cost of DL-Methionine is fluctuating and higher than cost of Methiorep. As Supplementation quantity is same, there is save in supplementation cost of Methionine in every production cycle. Fluctuating cost of DL-Methionine and relatively constant price of Methiorep can save the DL-Methionine Supplementation cost to a greater extent.

 

 

One of the scientific reports suggests that, Methiorep can give 238 gm extra live weight per bird. Just by consuming 1 gm of Methiorep, increase in body weight is nearly 73 gms. So one bag of Methiorep (25 Kg) can fetch you up to 1825 Kg extra live weight translating into good profit. 

 

Apart from the above mentioned benefits, Methiorep also normalises the elevated liver marker enzymes like alkaline phosphatases (ALP) & Aspartate amino transferase (AST). These enzymes are elevated in soft injury, stress condition, fatty liver syndrome etc. Evaluation of serum triglyceride and cholesterol level revealed that it is within normal range in Methiorep treated birds. These triglyceride & cholesterol level are elevated in fatty liver condition due to dietary insufficiency of Methionine. So, it can be inferred that supplementation of Methiorep exhibited protective action of liver by normalising of above biochemicals.