Guanidinoacetic acid as a feed supplement
- Post by: Admin
- March 29, 2025
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Guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) is immediate substrate for biosynthesis of creatine (CREA). Aside from improving energy utilisation, GAA possesses several features which further enhance its value as a feed additive for poultry. The feed supplement has good thermal stabi lity, which allows it to be safely used in pelleted diets. GAA has high bioavailability, is cost-effective, and spares dietary arginine (ARG) and energy. Its digestion and absorption is similar to other amino acids, although there are some interactions. Supplementation with 0.6–1.2 g/kg can increase muscle creatine by 14–21%, respectively. Meta-analysis has shown that GAA supplementation improved FCR in a dose dependent and rather linear manner. The efficacious arginine sparing activity of GAA is an important feature, since birds are not able to synthesise arginine and are exclusively dependent on dietary sources of this amino acid. GAA has several other proven benefits, including improving fertility and semen quality, stimulating muscle growth through cell-signalling processes, and ameliorating bone growth and development. Optimal inclusion levels of 1.4 g/kg GAA have been reported for supporting fertility in birds.