Abstract
1. In a series of five trials, conducted with broiler chicks during the starting period, two types of dietary single‐cell protein were tested: Pruteen (PR), a protein concentrate produced from methanol‐utilising bacteria, and a Lavera‐type yeast (LA) utilising the normal paraffins of heavy gas oil.
2. The inclusion of 90 to 150 g PR or LA/kg diet depressed growth rate by 14 to 16% and 9 to 10%, respectively. This effect was slightly counteracted (about 6 percentage units) by the addition of L‐arginine.
3. The growth depression can be explained completely in the case of PR or almost completely in that of LA on the basis of reduced food intake, without a decided effect on food utilisation.
4. The reduced consumption of PR‐containing diets is not due to a petroleum‐ether‐soluble factor, nor to the high and low concentrations of sodium and potassium, respectively, in PR.
Notes
Contribution from the Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel. No. 297‐E, 1979 series.