Determination of Energy and Nutrient Utilization of Enzyme-treated Rump Round Meat and Lotus Root Designed for Senior People with Young and Age d Hens as an Animal Model

This study aimed to examine the nutrient utilization of rump round meat and lotus root using young (32 wk) and aged hens (108 wk) as an animal model. Rump round meat and lotus root were prepared with or without enzymatic treatment. For each age group of laying hens, a total of 24 Hy-Line Brown laying hens were randomly allotted to one of two dietary treatments with six replicates. For rump round meat, the true total tract retention rate (TTTR) of dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) were unaffected by either enzymatic treatment or hen age. However, aged hens had greater (p<0.01) TTTR of energy and crude fat than young hens. Enzymatic treatment did not influence the TTTR of energy or crude fat. In addition, we did not observe any significant interaction between the TTTR of DM, energy, N, or crude fat in rump round meat and hen age or enzymatic treatment. The TTTR of DM remained unchanged between controls and enzyme-treated lotus root for young hens. However, enzyme-treated lotus root exhibited greater (p<0.05) TTTR of DM than control lotus root for aged hens, resulting in a significant interaction (p<0.05). The TTTR of energy and N in lotus roots were greater (p<0.01) for aged hens than for young hens. In conclusion, enzymatic treatment exerted beneficial effects on energy and nutrient utilization in aged hens, suggesting the aged hen model is practical for simulation of metabolism of elderly individuals.