The aim of this study was to evaluate carbon turnover on muscle tissue Pectoralis major, keel, tibia and liver of poultry at different life stages using the carbon stable isotopes technique. 216 male chick lings (Cobb) were used. The trial was conduced in a totally random distribution consisting on seven treatments with distinct days for diet substitution (0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 days old). Either Boltzmann sigmoid regression or the exponential time function were used in order to measure the carbon isotopic turnover in a specific period of time. The half-life were: 2.5; 2.8; 2.9; 4.9; 5.1; 5.5 e 6.0 day on muscle tissue; 2.7; 2.9; 3.1; 4.6; 5.3; 4.1 e 8.0 day on keel; 4.4; 3.6; 5.4; 5.8; 4.3; 5.2 e 6.3 day on tibia and 1.3; 1.9; 1.4; 1.5; 1.9; 1.7 and 2.1 day on liver, for to treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6 e T7 respectively. According to the results of this study, it is possible to conclude that the tibia has slowest metabolism and may indicate the isotopic signature of initial diets of poultry culture. The fast metabolism tissue, liver, is appropriated to reflect the diets fed at closer period of evaluation.
half-life; isotopic dilution; isotope 13C
