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METABOLISM AND NUTRITION: Research Note |
South Australian Research and Development Institute-Pig and Poultry Production Institute Nutrition Research Laboratory, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia
1 Corresponding author: hughes.bob{at}saugov.sa.gov.au
This study describes experiments using simple helmets to collect breath samples from individual birds for measurement of 13CO2, H2, and CH4, which form the basis for various diagnostic tests for intestinal dysfunction in humans. Peak enrichment in 13C in breath CO2 occurred between 5 and 30 min postingestion by 18-d-old chickens administered a gelatin capsule containing approximately 3.6 mg of 13C-octanoic acid dissolved in vegetable oil. For 25-d-old chickens given 10 mL of homogenized cooked corn by oral gavage, peak enrichment occurred 60 to 90 min postingestion. In fully fed 25-d-old chickens, H2 and CH4 concentrations in breath ranged from 7 to 115 ppm and from 0 to 5.5 ppm, respectively. Following an overnight fast, H2 and CH4 concentrations in breath ranged from 0.5 to 7.5 ppm and 0 to 3.0 ppm, respectively, in the same chickens. Ranges in H2 (1.0 to 56.5 ppm) and CH4 (0 to 8.0 ppm) concentrations widened considerably 3 h after oral gavage with approximately 130 mg of lactulose (an indigestible disaccharide) dissolved in 5 mL of water. The results from these investigations indicate that collection of re-breathed air samples from chickens is plausible, which opens the way for development of noninvasive methods for evaluating gastrointestinal functions in chickens.
Key Words: poultry • expired breath • carbon dioxide • hydrogen • methane
2 Current address: Veterinary Research Synergies Pty Ltd., East-wood SA 5063, Australia.
3 Current address: Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide SA 5006, Australia.
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