The objective was to evaluate methods of analysis of acid-insoluble ash (AIA) as an indicator for the measurement of apparent metabolisable energy (AME) on corn for poultry compared with the standard technique of total collection of excreta. Was formulated reference diet (RD) based on corn and soybean meal and a test diet (DT) with inclusion of 40% corn to the RD. It was added 1% of Celite™ to the diets as a source of acid-insoluble ash. We used a total of 60 chicks, Cobb500, from 12 to 21 days of age, distributed in a completely randomized design, with two treatments and six repetitions with five birds each. The AME of the RD and DT were determined using four methods of analysis of AIA (indicator) and using the formulas recommended by the method of total excreta collection. There wasn`t significant difference in AME of corn determined using the AIA as an indicator when compared to the method of total excreta collection. However, it was observed that the methods of analysis gave the AIA great variability in results AME of corn that had standard deviations ranging from 88-229kcal/kg. The acid insoluble ash (AIA) can be determined for most techniques and used to estimate the AME of corn.
animal metabolism; digestibility; methodology; nutrition