Effect of dietary inclusion level of a multi-species probiotic on broiler performance and two biomarkers of their caecal ecology

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos C. Mountzouris ◽  
Irida Palamidi ◽  
Panagiotis Tsirtsikos ◽  
Michaela Mohnl ◽  
Gerd Schatzmayr ◽  
...  

The effect of the dietary inclusion level of a three-species probiotic on broiler performance, nutrient digestibility, caecal microbiota composition and volatile fatty acid (VFA) pattern was evaluated. Day-old Cobb broilers (n = 448) were allocated in four treatments for 6 weeks. Each treatment had four replicates (two per gender) of 28 broilers each. Depending on the type of addition per kg basal diet, treatments were C (no other addition), PL (108 colony forming units of probiotic), PH (109 colony forming units of probiotic) and A (2.5 mg avilamycin). Overall bodyweight gain was better (P = 0.002) in PL and PH than in the control (2082 g) by 8.7% and 7.5%, respectively, while treatment PL did not differ from A (2341 g), which showed the highest bodyweight gain. The ileal and total-tract apparent digestibility of DM and the apparent metabolisable energy content corrected for N improved linearly (P ≤ 0.05) with the probiotic level. Fluorescent in situ hybridisation analysis showed caecal Bifidobacterium levels to increase linearly (P = 0.006) with the probiotic level. Probiotic administration resulted in altered caecal VFA patterns compared with the control. Gender effects (P ≤ 0.05) were noted for caecal levels of C. histolyticum group, Bacteroides fragilis group and Streptococcus spp., while interactions (P ≤ 0.05) of treatment with gender were seen for Bifidobacterium and all VFA components, except for acetate. In conclusion, beneficial effects on bodyweight gain, DM digestibility, apparent metabolisable energy content corrected for N, caecal Bifidobacterium levels and VFA patterns were noted with both probiotic inclusion levels.

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 720 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. Mountzouris ◽  
P. Tsirtsikos ◽  
G. Papadomichelakis ◽  
G. Schatzmayr ◽  
K. Fegeros

Three dietary combinations of probiotics and phytogenics administered sequentially or continuously were assessed for their effects on broiler performance, nutrient digestibility, caecal microbiota composition, volatile fatty acid (VFA) pattern and plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC). One-day-old Cobb male broilers (n = 525) were allocated to five experimental treatments for 42 days. Each treatment had three replicates of 35 broilers each. Depending on the time-frame of sequential or continuous addition in the basal diet (BD) of the probiotics (108 CFU/kg BD) and phytogenics (125 mg/kg BD), experimental treatments were: control (no additions, Days 1–42); PE1, probiotic Days 1–14 and phytogenic Days 15–42; PE2, probiotic Days 1–28 and phytogenic Days 29–42; PE3, probiotic and phytogenic continuously (Days 1–42); and A (2.5 mg avilamycin/kg diet, Days 1–42). There was no loss of probiotic viability upon mixing with the phytogenic for up to 7 days. Overall bodyweight gain was higher (P = 0.025) in the control and PE1 than PE2 and PE3, whereas Treatment A was intermediate and not different from the rest. Overall feed intake in the control was the highest (P = 0.003). Treatments PE1, PE2 and PE3 had better (P = 0.004) overall feed conversion ratio (FCR) than the control. The FCR in PE1 and PE3 did not differ from A, which had the best FCR. Mortality did not differ among treatments. Nutrient digestibility and caecal microbiota composition did not differ among treatments. However, differences (P ≤ 0.05) in caecal VFA pattern were noted, with the control having the lowest acetate molar ratio as well as the highest sum of valeric, hexanoic and heptanoic acids. Plasma TAC in the control was lower than in PE3, PE1 and PE2 at Day 14 (P < 0.001) and PE1 (P = 0.003) at Day 42. The concept of sequential or throughout probiotic and phytogenic administration showed promising results regarding feed efficiency and plasma TAC.


2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 1029
Author(s):  
M. B. P. Kumara Mahipala ◽  
G. L. Krebs ◽  
P. McCafferty ◽  
K. Dods

The effects of increasing the level of inclusion of fresh Atriplex amnicola Paul G.Wilson foliage in an oaten chaff (Avena sativa L.) diet fed to sheep were investigated. Six experimental diets were formulated to contain varying amounts [0, 161, 362, 496, 650 and 836 g/kg diet dry matter (DM)] of A. amnicola, and these diets were fed to individually penned sheep according to a Latin square design. Feed and faecal samples were analysed for crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, acid detergent lignin, and ash contents. Mineral contents and 24 h in vitro gas production were measured in freeze-dried feed samples. As the level of inclusion of A. amnicola increased, digestibility of DM, organic matter and neutral detergent fibre increased (P < 0.05), reaching the peak at the 496 g/kg DM inclusion level and then decreasing (P < 0.05) thereafter. Acid detergent fibre digestibility followed a similar trend, but peak digestibility was at 362 g/kg DM inclusion level. Digestibility of crude protein continued to increase (P < 0.05) with increasing inclusion of A. amnicola. Gas production (24 h) from A. amnicola was lower (P < 0.05) than that from oaten chaff (24.4 v. 45.3 mL/200 mg DM) and also had lower metabolisable energy content (in vitro ME, 6.3 v. 8.6 MJ/kg DM). As the level of inclusion of A. amnicola in the diet increased, gas production and in vitro metabolisable energy content decreased (P < 0.05). The 496 g/kg DM inclusion level provided the optimum N : energy ratio for fermentation of dietary fibre. At this level of inclusion the diet was rich in Na, Ca, P, Mg, K, S, Mn and Zn. High inclusion levels improved the crude protein value of the diet but compromised fibre digestibility.


2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 729
Author(s):  
P. Rosenfelder ◽  
M. Eklund ◽  
H. K. Spindler ◽  
U. Messerschmidt ◽  
C. Potthast ◽  
...  

Two experiments (Exp.) were conducted to determine the nutritive value of wheat-derived wet concentrated distillers solubles (CDS) for growing pigs. In Exp. 1, standardised ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) was determined by the difference method, using six ileally cannulated barrows (initial bodyweight (BW) of 31 ± 2.9 kg). The pigs were fed a casein-corn starch-based diet supplemented with wheat CDS so that about half of the crude protein (CP) originated from either wheat CDS or from casein. In Exp. 2, 12 barrows with an initial BW of 17 ± 0.9 kg were used to determine digestible energy (DE) content, and to calculate metabolisable energy (ME) and net energy (NE) content of wheat CDS. Animals were fed either a casein-corn starch-based basal diet or a CDS diet containing 470 g/kg of the basal diet and 530 g/kg wheat CDS on a dry matter (DM) basis. Values of SID of CP and AA in Exp. 1 amounted to 85, 74, 83 and 70% for CP, lysine, methionine and threonine, respectively. The DE, ME and NE contents of wheat CDS were 16.8, 15.8 and 11.1 MJ/kg DM, respectively. It can be concluded that SID of CP and AA and also the energy content in wheat CDS are substantially higher than corresponding values reported in international tables with information on nutritional value of dried co-products of bioethanol production.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tolulope Oluwadamilare Adebowale ◽  
Hongnan Liu ◽  
Abimbola Oladele Oso ◽  
Oyegunle Emmanuel Oke ◽  
Tarique Hussain ◽  
...  

A study was conducted to investigate the influence of dietary high or recommended nicotinic acid (niacin) supplementation on growth performance, total tract nutrient digestibility, hematology, serum chemistry, and lipoprotein concentrations in the serum and meat of growing turkeys. Turkeys were assigned to three treatments on weight equalisation basis with five replicates of eight turkeys in each group. Experimental diets were: no supplemental niacin (Control), a diet supplemented with 60 mg/kg niacin termed as recommended niacin supplementation and a diet supplemented with 180 mg/kg niacin termed as high niacin supplementation (HNS). The experiment lasted for the grower (Day 56–84) and finisher phases (Day 84–112) of the birds. Dietary inclusion of HNS increased (P &lt; 0.01) bodyweight gain, metabolisable energy (Days 84 and 112), dressing percentage and retail cut parts of turkeys (Day 112) in relation to the Control-fed turkeys. Furthermore, least white blood cell count and higher concentrations of packed cell volume, red blood cells and hemoglobin (P &lt; 0.01) were found in turkeys fed HNS on Days 84 and 112. Similarly, turkeys in the HNS group had improved serum constituents including serum protein, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphate. The blood and meat lipid profile analysis showed that low density lipoprotein and total cholesterol were least (P &lt; 0.05) in turkeys fed HNS. Collectively, dietary high supplementation of niacin (180 mg/kg) improves production performances, reduces serum and meat fat content and improve indicators of stress resistance ability in growing turkeys.


2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 821 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. T. Doyle ◽  
C. R. Stockdale ◽  
Nguyen Xuan Ba ◽  
Nguyen Huu Van ◽  
Le Duc Ngoan

Three experiments were conducted in Vietnam to measure responses in forage intake and diet digestibility to concentrate feeding in growing cattle. The basal diet in all experiments was grass (elephant grass, Pennisetum purpureum, in experiments 1 and 2; native grass in experiment 3) fed at 1.25% liveweight (DM basis) during the day and rice straw fed ad libitum at night. The concentrate in experiment 1 was cassava powder plus urea. In experiments 2 and 3, a formulated concentrate comprised of maize, rice bran, fish meal, urea and salt was used. The concentrates were offered at ~0.3, 0.7, 1.3 and 2.0% liveweight in each experiment, and a zero concentrate treatment was also included. Effects of the amount of concentrate on substitution rate of concentrate for forage and on diet neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestibility were measured to assess interactions between feeds. Substitution rate was high (0.5–0.7 kg DM reduction in forage intake per kg DM supplement consumed) and not affected by amount of supplement fed in experiment 1. In experiments 2 and 3, there was no substitution at the lowest intake of supplement, but it subsequently increased with amount of supplement consumed, to a high of 0.3–0.5 kg DM reduction in forage intake per kg DM supplement consumed. The cassava powder supplement markedly decreased dietary NDF digestibility (from 62 to 41%), whereas the formulated concentrate only reduced NDF digestibility by 11 and 8% units in experiments 2 and 3, respectively. It was calculated that depressions in NDF digestibility would reduce the estimated metabolisable energy content of the basal forage by 1–3.6 MJ/kg DM at the higher supplement intakes. The importance of these results in making decisions on tactical feeding systems to fatten cattle in central Vietnam is discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irida Palamidi ◽  
Vasileios Paraskeuas ◽  
Georgios Theodorou ◽  
Renata Breitsma ◽  
Gerd Schatzmayr ◽  
...  

The effect of dietary acidifier (AC) supplementation in combination or not with avilamycin (AV) was evaluated on broiler performance, nutrient digestibility, gizzard pH, activity of digestive enzymes and relative expression of cytokines. A 2 × 2 factorial experimental design with inclusion of AC (0 and 1 g/kg of diet) and AV (0 and 2.5 mg/kg of diet) as the main factors was implemented. Subsequently, 544-day-old male Cobb broilers were allocated in four treatments (i.e. C – no additions, AC; AV and ACAV), each having eight replicates of 17 broilers, for 6 weeks. Overall bodyweight gain (BWG) was improved (PAC = 0.035) by AC addition. BWG and feed conversion ratio were improved (P ≤ 0.05) by AV addition in all growth periods and overall. Dry matter, organic matter digestibility and energy retention were improved by AC (PAC = 0.050, PAC = 0.045 and PAC = 0.020, respectively), or AV (PAV = 0.018, PAV = 0.013 and PAV = 0.012, respectively). In addition AV supplementation improved digestibility of ether extracts (PAV = 0.022) and crude protein (PAV = 0.042). Pancreatic trypsin activity was lower in AC (PAC = 0.027) or AV (PAV ≤ 0.001) supplemented diets. An AC × AV effect on gizzard pH (PAC × AV = 0.034) was noted. Expression of interferon-γ (PAV = 0.010), interleukin (IL) 18 (PAV = 0.048) and inducible nitric oxide synthase 2 (PAV = 0.035) in spleen were downregulated by AV. An upregulation of IL10 (PAC × AV = 0.018), IL18 (PAC × AV = 0.002) and IL22 (PAC × AV = 0.030) in the caecal tonsils was shown for the combined ACAV supplementation. In conclusion, dietary AC supplementation improved performance, nutrient digestibility and energy retention, irrespective of AV inclusion. This study has provided evidence for potential links between digestive and immune function indices with growth performance improvements.


2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. Bradbury ◽  
S. J. Wilkinson ◽  
G. M. Cronin ◽  
P. Thomson ◽  
C. L. Walk ◽  
...  

High inclusion concentrations of dietary calcium (Ca) from limestone may have detrimental effects on broiler performance, such as increased gastric pH and a reduction in phosphorus (P) and amino acid digestibility. To assess the potential for feeding diets with lower total Ca concentrations, the effect of a novel highly soluble source of calcium (HSC) on bird performance, nutrient digestibility and skeletal integrity of 1120 male Cobb-500 broilers was compared with that of limestone. Eight dietary treatments in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design consisted of two sources of Ca (limestone or HSC), two concentrations of Ca (6.0 or 7.7 g/kg in the starter and 4.0 or 5.7 g/kg in the grower), two phytase levels (0 or 500 FTU/kg). The effect of dietary treatments on growth performance and feed intake were measured from Day 1 to Day 40 and foot ash and leg health on Day 40. At the end of the starter period, in the absence of phytase, changing Ca source from limestone to HSC at 6.0 g/kg total Ca decreased both bodyweight gain and feed intake (P < 0.05). The addition of phytase to diets containing 6.0 g/kg total Ca provided by HSC increased bodyweight gain (P < 0.05), as well as increasing feed intake (P < 0.05). At the end of the grower period, diets supplemented with phytase increased bodyweight gain (P < 0.001), birds fed the higher Ca concentration were also observed to have an increased bodyweight gain (P < 0.001). Apparent ileal Ca digestibility significantly increased with the addition of phytase to diets containing 4.0 g/kg total Ca provided by HSC (P < 0.05), this was also observed for P digestibility. Replacement of limestone with HSC when fed in conjunction with phytase has the potential to be an effective strategy to improve broiler performance and bone mineralisation.


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