Digestion of fat and fatty acids along the gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens.

Two experiments were conducted. The first experiment investigated the digestion of fat and fatty acids (FA) from soybean oil and tallow along the gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens. The second experiment was conducted to determine endogenous fat and FA losses and the FA profile of chicken bile. In experiment 1, 2-wk-old broilers were fed corn-soy diets supplemented with 50 g/kg of soybean oil or tallow for 7 d and digesta were collected from the duodenum, upper jejunum, upper ileum, and lower ileum. Apparent digestibility coefficients were calculated using the titanium marker ratio in diets, and digesta. Digestibility of fat was determined to be negative in the duodenum, indicating marked net secretion of fat into this segment. Fat was rapidly digested in the jejunum, with digestibility coefficients of 0.60 to 0.64 being determined at the end of the jejunum. The digestion of fat continued in the upper ileum. The apparent digestibility coefficient of fat determined at lower ileum in soybean oil diets was higher (P < 0.05) than that in tallow diets (0.82 vs. 0.74). Linoleic acid was digested throughout the intestinal tract, whereas the digestion of palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids started only in the jejunum. Measurements at the lower ileal level showed that the unsaturated FA (linoleic and oleic acids) were well digested (0.90 to 0.94), irrespective of the source of fat. In contrast, the digestibility of saturated FA (palmitic and stearic acids) was influenced (P < 0.05) by the fat source. Digestibility coefficients of palmitic and stearic acids at lower ileum were markedly higher (P < 0.05) in the diet containing soybean oil (0.77 to 0.85) compared with that containing tallow (0.58 to 0.68). In experiment 2, ileal endogenous fat loss was determined to be 1,714 mg/kg of DM intake. Endogenous fat was composed mainly of palmitic (75 g/kg), stearic (131 g/kg), oleic (73 g/kg), linoleic (133 g/kg), and arachidonic (60 g/kg) acids. Fatty acid profile of endogenous fat was found to be remarkably similar to that of the bile, suggesting that the reabsorption of fat and FA from the bile was incomplete in growing broiler chickens.