TY  - JOUR
AU  - Liu, Kevin
AU  - LU, Wenbiao
AU  - Xiao, Kaiyu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/09
TI  - Micro-Encapsulation of All Six Trace Minerals to Reduce Inclusion While Maintaining Performance and Carcass Traits of Broiler
JO  - Recent Progress in Nutrition
SP  - 021
VL  - 06
IS  - 03
AB  - Trace minerals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, I and Se) are essential components of numerous enzymes thus indispensable for metabolism, immunity, growth and reproduction. Inorganic forms of these minerals (ITM) are widely used in the poultry industry often with much in excess in order to cover various uncertainties, resulting in not only oxidative deterioration of feeds and gastro-intestinal health, but also large proportions to be excreted into the eco-system, leading to many jurisdictions to set up limits of Cu and Zn usages in feeds. This study investigated feasibility and extent of reduction of supplemental ITM in broiler nutrition, by using 400 newly hatched Ross 308 male chicks, randomly assigned to four treatments with ten floor pen replicates per treatment and 10 birds per pen, to determine the efficacy of encapsulating all six trace minerals into a single micro-granule (Metal Polysaccharides Complex, MPSC, MinCo®) supplemented on descending pattern, on growth performance, digestibility of these minerals and carcass traits of broilers. The control diet was supplemented with ITM at their conventional levels (mg/kg: Cu 15, Fe 40, Mn 100, Zn 100, Se 0.3, and I 1.0) for the entire 42-day of life cycle. Treatments 2-4 tested MPSC in three formulas on descending inclusions. Feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and mortality were measured by phases. Concentrations of trace minerals in feces and apparent digestibility were measured on days 33-35 using titanium dioxide. Footpad dermatitis (FPD), wooden breast (WB), white striping (WS), and mineral contents in liver and breast were measured on day 43. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed all birds reached expected live weight 3.2 kg by day 42 at FCR 1.55, no significant differences were observed among treatments up to day 35. During the finisher phase, the birds fed on MPSC showed improved growth rate and FCR compared with those fed on ITM (P < 0.05). FPD, WB and WS did not differ. Minerals in MPSC showed significantly higher apparent digestibility (P < 0.05) than ITM. Calculation on the intakes of trace minerals revealed that the birds fed on ITM consumed 1,255 mg of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn in total, whilst those on MPSC reduced consumption to 491 mg (Formula 1), 264 mg (Formula 2) and 312 mg (Formula 3). It can be concluded that MPSC encapsulation can significantly increase digestibility and retention of trace minerals which enables reduction of trace minerals usage by approximately 70% without compromising performance and carcass traits.
SN  - 2771-9871
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/rpn.2603021
DO  - 10.21926/rpn.2603021
ID  - Liu2026
ER  -