Department of Biosystems, Laboratory of Livestock physiology, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Ghent University, Heidestraat 19, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
Poult Sci. 2019 Jun 1;98(6):2652-2661. doi: 10.3382/ps/pez013.
In this study, a Lunar Prodigy dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanner was validated as a technique to estimate chicken body composition in a non-invasive way. Former research has emphasized the importance of validation of every scanner and software version. In a first trial, DEXA estimated body composition for broilers was correlated with chemical carcass analysis to develop prediction equations. As such, those equations can be used in later experiments with chickens to correct DEXA estimations to estimate body composition accurately by DEXA. DEXA estimated fat mass, lean tissue mass, bone mineral content (BMC) and total body mass, which is the sum of fat, lean mass and BMC, were compared to chemically analyzed crude fat, lean mass as the sum of protein and water and body ash content and scale body weight, respectively. Those regression equations were then used in a second trial to determine body composition based upon DEXA for breeders at different ages. In this experiment, fat and lean tissue determined by DEXA, were compared to dissection parameters commonly used for assessing carcass quality, namely breast muscle and abdominal fat. The first trial showed that DEXA provides high correlations for body mass (ρ = 1) and the individual tissue masses separately (ρ ranging between 0.98 and 1). These high correlations allow for accurate prediction of those components with the developed regression equations. Proportional fat and lean tissue were correlated with their chemical counterparts, however, to a lower extent than absolute values due to lower variation between the proportional weights. BMC percentage was not significantly correlated with ash percentage. Furthermore, in trial 2 high correlations were observed between dissection parameters and DEXA-corrected estimations. These correlations show that DEXA can assess carcass quality in breeders without sacrificing the birds. In conclusion, DEXA is a reliable technique to estimate breeder and broiler body composition in a non-invasive way, hence allowing for longitudinal studies over longer periods of time while avoiding sacrificing of birds.
在这项研究中，我们验证了 Lunar Prodigy 双能 X 射线吸收仪（DEXA）作为一种非侵入性方法来估计鸡体成分的技术。以前的研究强调了验证每台扫描仪和软件版本的重要性。在第一次试验中，我们通过 DEXA 估计肉鸡的体成分，并与化学剖检分析进行相关分析，以开发预测方程。因此，这些方程可用于后续的鸡实验中，通过 DEXA 校正来准确估计体成分。DEXA 估计的脂肪量、瘦组织量、骨矿物质含量（BMC）和总体重（脂肪、瘦组织和 BMC 的总和）分别与化学分析的粗脂肪、蛋白质和水的总和（瘦组织）以及体灰分含量和秤体重进行比较。然后，这些回归方程在第二次试验中用于确定不同年龄的种鸡的体成分。在该实验中，通过 DEXA 确定的脂肪和瘦组织与常用于评估胴体质量的剖检参数（即胸肌和腹脂）进行了比较。第一次试验表明，DEXA 提供了体质量（ρ=1）和各组织质量（ρ值在 0.98 到 1 之间）的高度相关性。这些高度相关性允许使用开发的回归方程准确预测这些成分。比例脂肪和瘦组织与化学分析的对应物相关，但由于比例体重的变化较小，相关性低于绝对值。BMC 百分比与灰分百分比无显著相关性。此外，在试验 2 中，剖检参数与 DEXA 校正的估计值之间观察到高度相关性。这些相关性表明，DEXA 可以在不牺牲鸡只的情况下评估种鸡的胴体质量。总之，DEXA 是一种可靠的技术，可用于非侵入性地估计种鸡和肉鸡的体成分，从而允许进行更长时间的纵向研究，同时避免杀鸡。
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