Efficacy of natural alternatives to antibiotic on the growth performance, gut microbial population, intestinal morphology, and serum biochemical metabolites of broiler chickens
Open Access
- 1 January 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Italian Journal of Animal Science
- Vol. 20 (1), 1801-1809
- https://doi.org/10.1080/1828051x.2021.1954558
Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of different feed additives on growth performance, carcass characteristics, gut microbial population, intestinal morphology, and blood metabolites of broiler chickens. A total of 540, day-old Ross 308 male chicks were randomly distributed into 6 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens per treatment for 35 days. The birds fed on a basal diet without feed additive (CON) or the basal diet supplemented with 0.25 g/kg antibiotic as growth promoter (AGP), 1 g/kg essential oils (EO), 1.7 g/kg synbiotic (SYN), 3 g/kg medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), and 1 mL/L essential oils in drinking water (EOW). The additives improved the body weight gain (p = .004) and feed conversion ratio (p = .02) compared to the CON group during the whole trial. The serum concentration of cholesterol was lower in the birds fed the MCFA diet and serum concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) decreased in MCFA and SYN groups. The relative weight of spleen was the greatest in MCFA group (p = .01). Feeding birds diets containing different additives decreased the population of coliform (p = .002) and Clostridium perfringens (p = .01) while Lactobacillus population was greater in broilers offered EOW, SYN, and MCFA supplements (p = .02). The jejunal villus height enhanced in the broiler chickens which received AGP and MCFA additives (p = .008). It is concluded that EOW, SYN, MCFA, and EO as alternatives for AGP improved the growth performance and intestinal morphometric indices and reduced the caecal pathogenic bacteria in broiler chickens.Keywords
This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evaluation of a commercially available organic acid product on body weight loss, carcass yield, and meat quality during preslaughter feed withdrawal in broiler chickens: A poultry welfare and economic perspectivePoultry Science, 2014
- Effects of dietary prebiotics, probiotic and synbiotics on performance, caecal bacterial populations and caecal fermentation concentrations of broiler chickensJournal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2013
- Effect of thymol and carvacrol feed supplementation on performance, antioxidant enzyme activities, fatty acid composition, digestive enzyme activities, and immune response in broiler chickensPoultry Science, 2013
- Effects of Different Levels of Probiotic and Prebiotic on Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler ChickensJournal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 2010
- ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Effects of dietary supplementation of synbiotics and phytobiotics on performance, caecal coliform population and some oxidant/antioxidant parameters of broilersJournal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 2010
- Growth performance, serum biochemistry and blood hematology of broiler chicks fed different levels of black seed (Nigellasativa) and peppermint (Mentha piperita)Livestock Science, 2010
- Studies on the antihypertensive, antispasmodic, bronchodilator and hepatoprotective activities of the Carum copticum seed extractJournal of Ethnopharmacology, 2005
- Anti-tumour and antioxidant activity of natural curcuminoidsCancer Letters, 1995
- Antioxidant actions of thymol, carvacrol, 6-gingerol, zingerone and hydroxytyrosolFood and Chemical Toxicology, 1994
- Duodenal Villus Area and Epithelial Cellular Migration in Conventional and Germ-Free Chicks ,Poultry Science, 1973