Electrocardiographic Examination of Broiler Chickens Fed L-Carnitine Supplement and Reared at High Altitude

The present experiment investigated the effect of different levels of dietary L-carnitine on electrocardiographic pathern of broilers reared at high altitude (2100 m). A number of 192 day-old chicks (Cobb 500) were selected from a group of 300 chicks and assigned to four treatments with four replicates of 12 birds. All chicks were raised on floor pen up to 42 days of age. Treatments composed of four levels of dietary L-carnitine (0, 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg). The control diet was formulated to meet the NRC (1994) nutrients recommendations. Results indicated that in Lead II,the amplitude of S-wave was significantly reduced (P<0.05) in broilers fed 50 mg/kg L-carnitine compared to the control. Such reduction in S-wave was also observed in Leads III and aVF. Amplituds of R-wave in Lead II and T-waves in all Leads did not show any significant difference among treatments. The right ventricular weight ratio tended to reduce in birds fed L-carnitine supplemented diets so that the difference between the control and 50 mg/kg L-carnitine treatment was significant (P<0.05). The results of this study showed that supplementary L-carnitine had beneficial effect on electrocardiographic response, as manifested in reduced S-wave amplitude and heart function in broiler chickens.