Replacement of choline chloride with a plant source of choline in broiler chicken diets

Context: Choline is an essential nutrient in broiler diets, and its supplementation is traditionally made using choline chloride, a synthetic ingredient that is difficult to handle and store because of its hygroscopicity. A natural choline alternative may have benefits for feed manufacturing and broiler performance. Aim: The objective of the present study was to examine the use of a plant source of choline to replace choline chloride in broiler diets. Methods: Male Cobb broilers (n = 1120) were reared from Day 1 to Day 42 in boxes in an industrial shed and fed isonutritive diets based on maize and soybean meal. The experimental design was completely randomised with four treatments, eight replicates and 35 birds per replicate. Treatments were: control, choline source 100% choline chloride; and replacement of 25%, 50% and 100% of choline chloride with herbal choline. Herbal choline was derived from Ocimum sanctum, Andrographis paniculata, Silybum marianum, Glycine max and Azadirachta indica. Production performance, carcass and cut yields (at Day 42), feathering score and serum biochemical parameters were evaluated. Key results: There were no differences among the treatments for weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion, viability, or carcass and cut yields. However, lot uniformity improved when 100% herbal choline replaced choline chloride. There was no difference among treatments for feathering score, but feather percentage (at Day 42) was highest in treatments with herbal choline associated with choline chloride (25:75 or 50:50). The 100% herbal choline treatment resulted in lower concentration of serum low-density lipoprotein at Days 21 and 42. Conclusions: Herbal choline can fully replace choline chloride in broiler diets.