Effect of lucerne meal on appendix´s microbiology

Journal of applied animal nutrition, 2019

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of method of whole wheat inclusion on performance and caecal microbiota profile of broiler chickens. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation analysis was used to characterise the microbiota by using genusspecific probes. Three treatments, namely, ground wheat (GW) or 200 g/kg whole wheat (WW) replacing GW before or after pelleting were evaluated. A total of 144, one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were allocated to 18 cages (eight broilers per cage) based on body weight and six cages were randomly assigned to each treatment. The diets were offered ad libitum from day 11 to 35 post-hatch. The WW fed birds, regardless of the method of inclusion, resulted in poorer weight gain (P < 0.05) and reduced feed intake (P < 0.001), but a similar feed per gain (P > 0.05) compared to those fed the GW diet. The WW diet, regardless to the method of inclusion, had no effect (P > 0.05) on the populations of Lactobacillus and Bacteroides spp. compared with the GW diet. The Bifidobacterium spp. population was higher (P < 0.05) in birds fed the GW diet compared with WW feeding, regardless of the method of inclusion. A reduction (P < 0.05) in the numbers of pathogenic Clostridium and Campylobacter spp. were observed in caecal samples from birds fed WW diets, regardless of method of inclusion, compared with those fed the GW diet, which was attributed to increased gizzard activity. Birds fed WW diets, regardless to the method of inclusion, showed a reduction in gizzard pH (P < 0.05), microbial gas production (P < 0.05), and an increase in gizzard weight (P < 0.05) relative to the GW treatment. The results indicated that the gizzard has an important function as a barrier organ, one that prevents pathogenic bacteria from entering the distal digestive tract.

2016

The study was conducted to test the effect of Jerusalem artichoke (JA) in dry form on the digestive tract of broiler chicken. The birds were divided in seven groups. The feed ration of the first group chicken was without supplement, the other six groups – supplemented with additive JA and Lactobacillus reuteri in different concentrations. Two birds from each group were slaughtered at the trial beginning on the 7, further – 28 and 42 days of age. The content of ileum was bacteriologically tested for counts of lactic acid bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae. The results confirm that intestinal homeostasis is most favourably influenced by adding dried JA in 0.5 % concentration to the basic feed or a symbiotic – dried JA in combination with 1·10 Lactobacillus reuteri in 0.5 % concentration.

American Journal of Biology and Life Sciences , 2017

Methods to estimate the digestibility of nitrogenous components and amino acids in chickens and ducks have been developed and tested by numerous authors. The discrepancies between the findings of different researchers make it very difficult to make clear and definite conclusions as to which method is most scientifically appropriate and relevant, and can be used as a standard method for the determination of digestibility of nutrients and amino acid retention. Besides the scientific aspects, the appropriateness of the methods to be used must be based also on the local context and available facilities and be economically viable. Soybean meal (SBM), a commonly used protein source for animal feed, contains anti-nutritional factors such as trypsin inhibitor, phytate, oligosaccharides among others, which limit its utilization. Microbial fermentation using bacteria or fungi has the capability to improve nutritional value of SBM by altering the native composition. Both submerged and solid state fermentation processes can be used for this purpose. Bacterial and fungal fermentations result in degradation of various anti-nutritional factors, an increase in amount of small-sized peptides and improved content of both essential and non-essential amino acids. However, the resulting fermented products vary in levels of nutritional components as the two species used for fermentation differ in their metabolic activities. Compared to SBM, feeding non-ruminants with fermented SBM has several beneficial effects in poultry.

Journal of Animal Science Advances, 2014

Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 2016

BACKGROUND: There are some reports on the positive effects of dietary insoluble fiber on the performance of broilers. OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to determine the effect of inclusion rate and particle size of rice husk in the diet of broilers on the ileal and cecal bacteria populations and small intestine morphology. METHODS: The experimental diets consisted of a control husk-free diet and four diets containing 7.5 or 15 g/kg rice husk with particle sizes of less than 1 mm or between 1-2 mm. RESULTS: The dietary insoluble fiber did not affect feed intake of the experimental groups. The best body weight gain and feed conversion ratio was recorded in the broiler chickens fed the diet containing 15g/kg rice hulls with particle size of less than 1 mm (p<0.05). In the duodenum and jejunum, the crypt depth to villi height ratio in the control group was significantly lower than other groups (p<0.05). In the ileum, all the birds fed rice husk except the group fed the diet that contained 15g/kg rice husk with particle size of 1-2 mm, had higher Lactobacilli and lower E. coli and coliforms populations than the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that the 7.5g/kg dietary inclusion and more coarse particles size of rice husk (1-2 mm) were more effective to promote broiler growth performance. The positive effects of dietary insoluble fiber on the growth performance of broilers in this study are probably a result of favorable changes in the bacteria populations of the gastrointestinal tract and not any improvement in small intestine absorptive capacity.

Journal of Applied Animal Research, 2016

A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was used to investigate the effects of two Iranian wheat cultivars (Alvand or Atrak), two processing methods (dry heating or microwave), and two enzyme (Kemzyme) levels on the performance, microbiota activity, and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens. A total of 320 broiler chickens were assigned to 8 treatments with 4 replicate pens of 10 broiler chickens per pen. The results showed that birds that received Alvand cultivar with microwave processing and enzyme supplementation had greater weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) than those that received Atrak cultivar (P < .05). The total bacteria count in ileo-caecum was greater in broilers fed wheat-based diets with enzyme and dry heating process (P < .05). Atrak cultivar, microwave processing, and enzyme supplementation increased the population of Lactobacilli in broiler chickens (P < .05). Besides, the inclusion of enzyme decreased the population of E. coli in the ileo-caecum of broiler chickens (P < .05). The morphological traits of the intestine were greater in birds that received Atrak cultivar with enzyme supplementation and microwave treatment (P < .05). In conclusion, the positive effects of microwave processing and enzyme supplementation on the growth performance and intestinal morphology were clearly evident for broiler chickens.

2011

Prebiotics are nutrients, which are not digested, and selectively improve growth and activity of beneficial microbes in the intestine. Corncobs contain hemicelluloses which are potential as prebiotic sources. The objectives of this research were to study the performance, the percentage of carcass, and abdominal fat of broilers fed a ration contained prebiotic from hydrolyzed corncobs. This research used factorial completely randomized design which consisted of two factors. The first factor consisted of three treatments: basal ration, basal ration +2.5% prebiotics, and basal ration +0.01% bambermycin, meanwhile the second factor consisted of two treatments: without E. coli infection and with E. coli infection, with five replications (10 birds/replicate). The variables observed were performances (consumption, body weight, feed conversion ratio, mortality), the percentage of carcass, and abdominal fat. The results show that the performances, the percentage of carcass, and abdominal fat...

Animal Production Science, 2010

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of water-soluble carbohydrate extracts from Cabbage tree (Cordyline australis), Acacia (Acacia pycnantha), and Undaria seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida) (at 5 or 10 g/kg diet) on the performance and gut microbiota of broilers. The plant extracts had no negative effect on growth performance, except that a high level of Undaria extract in the diet suppressed the growth of broiler chicks. Ileal digesta viscosity was increased (P &lt; 0.05) and apparent ileal digestibility of fat was depressed (P &lt; 0.05) in birds fed the higher level of Undaria extract compared with the negative control. The plant extracts increased (P &lt; 0.05) the numbers of lactobacilli in the ileum and caeca. The high levels of Acacia extract and Undaria extract significantly (P &lt; 0.05) reduced the population of coliform bacteria in the ileum compared with the negative control group. The population of Clostridium perfringens in caeca, but not the ileum, was reduced...

Comparative Clinical Pathology, 2017

A study on blood chemistry, haematology and ileal bacterial count of broilers fed fermented mixture of grated cassava tubers and palm kernel cake (FCP-mix) as a replacement for maize at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels of inclusion was undertaken. One hundred and eighty (180) 7-day-old broiler chickens were divided into six groups of 30 birds, and each group replicated thrice. Six experimental diets were formulated with diet 1 containing maize as the major energy source, while diet 6 containing fermented cassava root meal (CRM) and palm kernel cake (PKC) at the ratio of 1:1 as the main energy source. Diets 2, 3, 4 and 5 contained FCP-mix at 25, 50, 75 and 100% as replacement for maize. Diets 1 and 6 served as controls. Each group was assigned to one experimental diet in a completely randomized design. Blood samples for analysis and ileal bacterial count were obtained from each replicate, and data obtained were analysed statistically. Results show the packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), total red cell count (tRBC), mean cell volume (MCV) and platelets were not significantly affected by the inclusion of FCP-mix based diets, but there are significant variations in total white blood cell (tWBC), lymphocyte and heterophil count. Serum biochemistry data were not affected except for serum calcium, conjugated bilirubin and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels that were significantly affected. Mean intestinal Escherichia coli count were reduced at 50 and 75% replacement of maize by FCP-mix whereas at 100% replacement level, salmonella counts decreased by 50%, and E. coli counts became negligible. It is therefore concluded that FCP-mix has some probiotic activity which can be used to enhance performance of broilers and improve product quality.

British Poultry Science, 2010