The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, metabolizable energy, the digestibility coefficients of dry matter, crude protein and the amino acids contained in yeast extract supplied to broiler chickens. Two metabolism assays were carried out. In the first assay, 200 14-day old Cobb-500® male broiler chickens were used kept in metallic cages in a randomized complete design in groups of 10 birds per experimental unit. The total excreta collection method was used to determine the apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and apparent corrected by the nitrogen balance (AMEn) and the apparent digestibility coefficients of the dry matter and crude protein. The second assay used the forced feeding method in eight roosters which were cecectomized to determine the amino acid digestibility coefficient. The experimental design was randomized blocks repeated in time, with a group of 5 roosters that received the yeast extract and another group of 3 fasted roosters to determine the endogenous losses of amino acids. The yeast extract contained on average 92.49% DM, 48.07% CP, 4.883 kcal GE/kg and 2.073 kcal EMAn/kg and digestibility coefficients of 65.79% dry matter, 65.47% crude protein and 99.42% amino acids in broilers. The largest proportion of amino acids in the yeast extract was glutamic acid, leucine, aspartic acid, alanine, proline, lysine, valine, serine, isoleucine, glycine, and threonine.
digestibility; digestible amino acid; forced feeding; total fecal collection
