This work aimed to study the effects of L-glutamic acid (L-Glu) and K vitamin on the biochemical composition (collagenous proteins, CP; non collagenous proteins, NCP; and total proteins, TP) in femurs of broilers. The experiment which lasted for 14 days, was carried out in a completely randomized design in a 2 × 4 factorial with two levels of L-glutamic acid (6.25% and 12.5%) combined with four levels of K vitamin (0.02; 0.2; 2.0 and 20.0 mg of feed) each combination with four replicates of 10 animals. It was used Avian farm male broilers at 1 day of age, reared in electrically heated batteries with raised wire mesh floors and they were fed ad libitum with a basic diet containing essential L-amino acids, minerals and K vitamin. At the end of the experiment, the broilers were sacrificed through cervical dislocation and their femurs were removed, measured, fat removed and weighted. It was not observed a significant interaction among Lglutamic acid and K vitamin for the studied parameters. The non-collagenous protein levels were higher and the collagenous proteins levels were lower in the femurs of the animals fed with 6.25% of L-Glu. However, the total protein levels were not affected by the levels of L-glutamic acid and K vitamin. The levels of K vitamin had a decreasing quadratic effect on the levels of non-collagenous proteins and increasing effect on the level of collageonous proteins in the femurs. The composition on collagenous and non collagenous proteins can be used as a biochemical marker of leg abnormalities caused by low level of non-specific nitrogen.
bone; collagenous proteins; glutamate; menadione; noncollagenous proteins
