Effects of L-carnitine on growth performance, carcass composition, and metabolism of lipids in male broilers. Poult. Sci

ABSTRACT We studied the effects of L-carnitine on growth performance, carcass composition, and lipid me-tabolism in male broilers. Six hundred male commercial broilers were allotted to five groups, each of which in-cluded three replicates (40 birds per replicate). The groups received the same basal diet supplemented with 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100 mg/kg L-carnitine, respectively. The feeding trial showed that L-carnitine had no significant effect on daily gain or feed conversion. Supplementation with L-carnitine (above 25 mg/kg) in the diet increased breast muscle yield (P < 0.05) and crude fat content of the mus