Know About your Choline (2-hydroxyethyl-trimethyl ammonium hydroxide or vitamin B4) .
- Three basic raw materials which are required for the production of choline chloride
A.Trimethyl amine (TMA)
- Ethylene oxide (EO)
- Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
TMA & HCl form intermediate products which is neutralize by ethylene oxide (which is costly) if it is not then final products contains high level of TMA , permissible label of TMA is less than 200 PPM if it is more
a . causes toxicity in birds. Due to its corrosive action it causes sloughing of the intestinal mucosa & results into malabsorption (reduced nutrient utilization).
- the fumes generated by TMA when enter the respiratory tract of the bird leads to discomfort that restricts the birds from feeding & ultimately it results into reduced production and may increase mortality .
Carrier in choline must be bacterial & fungal toxin free & uniform particle size for proper mixing & avoid in birds selective feeding .
Apart from bacterial & fungal toxin it must be dioxin free
most toxic compound is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or TCDD this is fat soluble which bioaccumulates & climbs up the food chain and is mainly (97.5%) found in meat and dairy products .
Choline Biochemical reaction in Body
a . Choline converted in to 13% in Phosphatidylcholine ( naturally soya lecithin ) this is dynamic reaction interconversion in each other
- Other part of choline converted in to acetylcholine 15% , require for neurotransmitter .
- Remaining 55 % converted in to Betaine ( Trimethylglycine) which produce carnitine ( because of this betaine related to fatty acid β-oxidation ) & methyl donor which help in balancing sulphur aminoacid in feed .
Typical poultry feed contains 500-1100 mg/ kg choline depend of raw materials & it’s inclusion label but bioavailability of this choline in raw materials is varied depend on its digestibility like mustard or rape seed meal contains high amount of choline then soya & peanut but bioavailability is only 24%
Most important question is can we replace synthetic choline chloride 60 % which contains 52% choline molecule in feed by using Betaine the answer is practically Yes . 1 gram of betaine 100 % molecule being able to spare 1.57 grams of choline chloride 100 % molecule
Best Regards
Dr Bhaskar Choudhary (Animal Nutritionist)
Area Manager Indian Subcontinent & west Africa -Biochem Germany
