- 1Appletree CI Group AG, Winterthur, Switzerland.
- 2INBIOSUR-CO, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Bahia Blanca, Argentina.
- 3Herbonis AG, Basel, Switzerland.
- 4Institut für Tierernährung, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Oberschleissheim, Germany.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
The safety of supplementing broiler feed with a standardised herbal
extract, Solanum Glaucophyllum Standardised Leaves (SGSL) containing
glycosylated 1a,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) and standardised to
contain 10 µg/g 1,25(OH)2D3 equivalent, was examined in two studies. In
a first study, we examined the potential of SGSL to substitute vitamin
D3 (VD3) and the tolerated dose range of SGSL when applied without
concomitant VD3 by analyzing performance and blood chemical parameters
after 14, 25 and 38 days on diets containing two doses of SGSL (1 and 10
g/kg feed) as source of 1,25(OH)2D3. In the second study, the no
adverse effect level of SGSL was determined by analyzing the same
parameters after 35 days on diets containing basic VD3 supply and in
addition 0.2, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 g of SGSL/kg feed. We showed that SGSL
was able to substitute VD3 in broilers as far as the performance
parameters were concerned. Also, we found that the no adverse effect
level is at least 4 g SGSL/kg feed when used with moderate doses of VD3.
This is 20 times higher than the upper limit of the commercially
recommended dose. We concluded that SGSL is a safe feed additive to use
in broiler chicken.
KEYWORDS:
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin
D3-Glycoside; 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3-glycosides; Futtersicherheit;
Masthühner; Solanum glaucophyllum; Vitamin D; broiler; feed safety
