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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Umami taste compounds are perceived in broilers through taste buds that detect peptides and amino acids, which can positively or negatively affect their feeding behavior. In this study, we evaluated the intake behavior for four essential amino acids (Lysine, Methionine, Threonine, and Tryptophan) in chickens. Sixty-four one-day-old male birds (Ross 308) were used. For 16 days during the early stage of the birds, two-choice preference tests were performed, in which 16 combinations composed of four amino acids in four concentrations (0.1 to 1.5%) diluted in water were evaluated, which were supplied in contrast to the delivery of water (a neutral compound) to a pair of birds in a pen for 4 h of administration after a prior 1 h fast. Amino acid solutions such as Threonine and Tryptophan tended to show less preference at the highest exposed concentrations (1.5%) concerning drinking water, which was confirmed in the case of Threonine when performing a sensory-motivated intake analysis (SMI). The opposite occurred with Lysine (1.5%), which numerically showed a higher preference ratified by SMI and acceptability analysis concerning water and other concentrations of the same amino acid, respectively. When palatability was measured with pecking cluster size, no significant differences across amino acid concentrations were observed, which is probably attributed to short recording periods and differences in solution intake behavior between chickens and previous experimental models such as rats. The results reinforce the notion that it is necessary to standardize feeding behavior tests in birds according to their feeding patterns and nutritional needs.

Details

Title
Taste Preferences in Broilers: Behavioral Evaluation for Varying Concentrations of Four Essential Amino Acids
Author
Figueroa, Jaime 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cordero Paloma 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Herrera-Alcaíno Sofía 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Guzmán-Pino, Sergio A 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Instituto de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Animales y Ambientales—ICA3, Universidad de O’Higgins, San Fernando 3070000, Chile; [email protected] 
 Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Silvoagropecuarias y Veterinarias, Campus Sur, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 8820808, Chile; [email protected] (P.C.); [email protected] (S.H.-A.), Departamento de Fomento de la Producción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Santa Rosa 11735, La Pintana, Santiago 8820000, Chile 
 Departamento de Fomento de la Producción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Santa Rosa 11735, La Pintana, Santiago 8820000, Chile 
First page
1574
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20762615
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3217685696
Copyright
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.