In ovo Feeding as a Tool for Improving Performance and Gut Health of Poultry: A Review

Early growth and development of the gastrointestinal tract are of critical importance to enhance nutrients' utilization and optimize the growth of poultry. In the current production system, chicks do not have access to feed for about 48–72 h during transportation between hatchery and production farms. This lag time affects early nutrient intake, natural exposure to the microbiome, and the initiation of beneficial stimulation of the immune system of chicks. In ovo feeding can provide early nutrients and additives to embryos, stimulate gut microflora, and mitigate the adverse effects of starvation during pre-and post-hatch periods. Depending on the interests, the compounds are delivered to the embryo either around day 12 or 17 to 18 of incubation and via air sac or amnion. In ovo applications of bioactive compounds like vaccines, nutrients, antibiotics, prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, creatine, follistatin, L-carnitine, CpG oligodeoxynucleotide, growth hormone, polyclonal antimyostatin antibody, peptide YY, and insulin-like growth factor-1 have been studied. These compounds affect hatchability, body weight at hatch, physiological functions, immune responses, gut morphology, gut microbiome, production performance, and overall health of birds. However, the route, dose, method, and time of in ovo injection and host factors can cause variation, and thereby inconsistencies in results. Studies using this method have manifested the benefits of injection of different single bioactive compounds. But for excelling in poultry production, researchers should precisely know the proper route and time of injection, optimum dose, and effective combination of different compounds. This review paper will provide an insight into current practices and available findings related to in ovo feeding on performance and health parameters of poultry, along with challenges and future perspectives of this technique.

Download Full-text

Probiotic Attributes of Lactobacillus fermentum NKN51 Isolated from Yak Cottage Cheese and the Impact of Its Feeding on Growth, Immunity, Caecal Microbiology and Jejunal Histology in the Starter Phase of Broiler Birds

Indian Journal of Animal Research ◽

10.18805/ijar.b-3970 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ajit S. Yadav ◽

Geeta . ◽

Suchismita Pradhan ◽

Ravi Rajoria ◽

Asok Kumar M ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Production Performance ◽

Lactobacillus Fermentum ◽

Cottage Cheese ◽

Great Success ◽

Meat Industry ◽

Poultry Production ◽

Gut Health ◽

Growth Promoters ◽

The Impact

Background: The discovery of antibiotics was a great success in control of the pathogenic infections in living beings. In addition, it also played a significant role in upliftment of the meat industry with their use as the growth promoters in the food animals including poultry. However, massive and incorrect use of antibiotics has resulted in the adverse outcome of antibiotic resistance over the years. In order to limit the antibiotic resistance at industry level itself, exploration of the possible alternatives such as probiotics is the need of the hour to replace the antibiotics in poultry industry without compromising the productivity. Hence, the present study was conducted to explore the effects of a novel probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus fermentum NKN51 on the production performance of the broilers with an aim to replace the antibiotics in poultry production. Methods: In the present study, a total of 128 broiler birds were grouped randomly into four treatment groups which were fed basal diet (BD) along with the different levels of L. fermentum NKN51,viz.,T1 (BD+107cfu/gm), T2(BD+106cfu/gm), T3 (BD+105cfu/gm) and T4 or control (BD only) for a period of 28 days so as to observe the effect of Lactobacillus fermentum NKN51 in the starter phase of the broiler birds in terms of growth, immunity, gut health and physiology. Result: The result revealed that the group of broiler birds supplemented with Lactobacillus fermentum NKN51 at the level of 107cfu/gm of basal feed had significantly better growth performance, cell mediated and humoral immunity, gut health and jejunal histology in terms of villus height, VH:CD ratio and intestinal absorption capacity. Thus, Lactobacillus fermentum NKN51 was found as an ideal probiotic supplement exhibiting better potential in enhancing the efficiency of broiler birds in terms of improved productivity.

Download Full-text

129 Maternal Nutrition and in Ovo Feeding Affect Gut Health and Performance of Poultry

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skab235.124 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽

pp. 68-69

Author(s):

Rajesh Jha ◽

Razib Das ◽

Pravin Mishra

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Maternal Nutrition ◽

Nutrient Utilization ◽

Feed Additives ◽

Poultry Production ◽

Limited Information ◽

Gut Health ◽

Growth Promoters ◽

In Ovo ◽

In Ovo Feeding

Abstract Maintaining a healthy gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is critical for better nutrient utilization, optimum performance, and overall health of poultry. Thus, several nutritional strategies have been tried to improve poultry’s gut health. More recently, different nutrients and feed additives are being used in poultry diets with some success when antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) are not an acceptable option anymore. However, effective modulation of gut health depends on the methods and timing of the compound being available to host animals. Routinely, the alternatives to AGP like prebiotics, probiotics, symbiotic, enzymes, and other nutrients are provided in feed or water to poultry. However, the GIT of the newly hatched poultry is functionally immature, despite going through significant morphological, cellular, and molecular changes toward the end of incubation. Thus, the early growth and development of GIT are of critical importance to enhance nutrients utilization and optimize the growth performance of poultry. Maternal nutrition and in ovo feeding have been used and found to be effective in improving gut health but with inconsistent results. The effects of maternal nutrition on the development and viability of embryo and post-hatch growth performance of birds are documented. However, there is limited information on how maternal nutrition affects the gut health of chicks. In contrast, information on the same from in ovo feeding of nutrients and feed additives has increased in recent years. The results show that in ovo feeding can be a good tool to modulate gut health of post-hatch birds positively. However, more information is needed on the proper route and time of inoculation, optimum doses, and effective combination of different compounds to maximize the benefits of in ovo feeding technique in poultry production.

Download Full-text

Overview of Prebiotics and Probiotics: Focus on Performance, Gut Health and Immunity – A Review

Annals of Animal Science ◽

10.1515/aoas-2016-0092 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 949-966 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Pratima Acharya Adhikari ◽

Woo Kyun Kim

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Bacterial Resistance ◽

Intestinal Bacteria ◽

Mechanisms Of Action ◽

Feed Additives ◽

Poultry Production ◽

Gut Health ◽

Growth Promoters ◽

In Ovo ◽

Poor Growth

AbstractDue to the threat and emergence of bacterial resistance against antibiotics, the use of in-feed antibiotics at therapeutic and subtherapeutic levels has been limited. Complete withdrawal of antibiotics as growth promoters (AGP) has led to poor gut health signs in chickens that include conditions like wet litter, intestinal bacteria overgrowth, poor growth performance, malabsorption and various diseases. Two of the most common alternatives to AGP are prebiotics and probiotics. Both prebiotics and probiotics have become the potential feed additives that improve the gut health, immune system and microbiota by various mechanisms of action, and enhance growth performance of chickens. The review discusses the modes of action like antibacterial, competitive exclusion (CE), and immunomodulatory properties of prebiotics and probiotics, particularly in poultry.In ovofeeding of prebiotics and probiotics with promising effect on growth performance and reduction of pathogens likeSalmonellais also discussed in this review. However, it is necessary to conduct more research with prebiotics and probiotics as well as other feed additives to understand the detailed mechanisms of action and identify better alternatives for poultry production and health.

Download Full-text

Influence of Plant Bioactive Compounds on Intestinal Epithelial Barrier in Poultry

Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1389557520666191226111405 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (7) ◽

pp. 566-577 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Amlan Kumar Patra

Keyword(s):

Bioactive Compounds ◽

Barrier Function ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Digestive Enzyme ◽

Intestinal Barrier ◽

Feed Additives ◽

Interactive Effects ◽

Intestinal Barrier Function ◽

Poultry Production ◽

Poultry Feeding

Natural plant bioactive compounds (PBC) have recently been explored as feed additives to improve productivity, health and welfare of poultry following ban or restriction of in-feed antibiotic use. Depending upon the types of PBC, they possess antimicrobial, digestive enzyme secretion stimulation, antioxidant and many pharmacological properties, which are responsible for beneficial effects in poultry production. Moreover, they may also improve the intestinal barrier function and nutrient transport. In this review, the effects of different PBC on the barrier function, permeability of intestinal epithelia and their mechanism of actions are discussed, focusing on poultry feeding. Dietary PBC may regulate intestinal barrier function through several molecular mechanisms by interacting with different metabolic cascades and cellular transcription signals, which may then modulate expressions of genes and their proteins in the tight junction (e.g., claudins, occludin and junctional adhesion molecules), adherens junction (e.g., E-cadherin), other intercellular junctional proteins (e.g., zonula occludens and catenins), and regulatory proteins (e.g., kinases). Interactive effects of PBC on immunomodulation via expressions of several cytokines, chemokines, complement components, pattern recognition receptors and their transcription factors and cellular immune system, and alteration of mucin gene expressions and goblet cell abundances in the intestine may change barrier functions. The effects of PBC are not consistent among the studies depending upon the type and dose of PBC, physiological conditions and parts of the intestine in chickens. An effective concentration in diets and specific molecular mechanisms of PBC need to be elucidated to understand intestinal barrier functionality in a better way in poultry feeding.

Download Full-text

Pretreatment with probiotics ameliorate gut health and necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens, a substitute to antibiotics

AMB Express ◽

10.1186/s13568-020-01153-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Danish Sharafat Rajput ◽

Dong Zeng ◽

Abdul Khalique ◽

Samia Sharafat Rajput ◽

Hesong Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Broiler Chickens ◽

Production Systems ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Necrotic Enteritis ◽

Poultry Production ◽

Gut Health ◽

Growth Promoters ◽

Broiler Performance ◽

Antibiotic Growth Promoters ◽

Microbial Strains

AbstractNecrotic enteritis (NE) is being considered as one of the most important intestinal diseases in the recent poultry production systems, which causes huge economic losses globally. NE is caused by Clostridium perfringens, a pathogenic bacterium, and normal resident of the intestinal microflora of healthy broiler chickens. Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of broiler chicken is considered as the most integral part of pathogen’s entrance, their production and disease prevention. Interaction between C. perfringens and other pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella present in the small intestine may contribute to the development of NE in broiler chickens. The antibiotic therapy was used to treat the NE; however European Union has imposed a strict ban due to the negative implications of drug resistance. Moreover, antibiotic growth promoters cause adverse effects on human health as results of withdrawal of antibiotic residues in the chicken meat. After restriction on use of antibiotics, numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the alternatives to antibiotics for controlling NE. Thus, possible alternatives to prevent NE are bio-therapeutic agents (Probiotics), prebiotics, organic acids and essential oils which help in nutrients digestion, immunity enhancement and overall broiler performance. Recently, probiotics are extensively used alternatives to antibiotics for improving host health status and making them efficient in production. The aim of review is to describe a replacement to antibiotics by using different microbial strains as probiotics such as bacteria and yeasts etc. having bacteriostatic properties which inhibit growth of pathogens and neutralize the toxins by different modes of action.

Download Full-text

Silver Nanoparticles as Modulators of Myogenesis-Related Gene Expression in Chicken Embryos

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes12050629 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 629

Author(s):

Walaa A. Husseiny ◽

Abeer A. I. Hassanin ◽

Adel A. S. El Nabtiti ◽

Karim Khalil ◽

Ahmed Elaswad

Keyword(s):

Silver Nanoparticles ◽

Placebo Treatment ◽

Cellular Level ◽

Breast Muscle ◽

Transcriptional Level ◽

Poultry Production ◽

In Ovo ◽

Chicken Embryos ◽

Muscle Tissues ◽

Myogenic Factor

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of colloidal nanoparticles of silver (Nano-Ag) on the expression of myogenesis-related genes in chicken embryos. The investigated genes included the members of the myogenic regulatory factors family (MRFs) and myocyte enhancer factor 2A (MEF2A) genes. A total of 200 fertilized broiler eggs (Indian River) were randomly distributed into four groups; non-injected control, injected control with placebo, treatment I in ovo injected with 20 ppm Nano-Ag, and treatment II in ovo injected with 40 ppm Nano-Ag. The eggs were then incubated for 21 days at the optimum temperature and humidity conditions. Breast muscle tissues were collected at the 5th, 8th, and 18th days of the incubation period. The mRNA expression of myogenic determination factor 1 (MYOD1), myogenic factor 5 (MYF5), myogenic factor 6 (MYF6), myogenin (MYOG), and MEF2A was measured at the three sampling points using real-time quantitative PCR, while MYOD1 protein expression was evaluated on day 18 using western blot. Breast muscle tissues were histologically examined on day 18 to detect the changes at the cellular level. Our results indicate that myogenesis was enhanced with the low concentration (20 ppm) of Nano-Ag due to the higher expression of MYOD1, MYF5, and MYF6 at the transcriptional level and MYOD1 at the translational level. Moreover, histological analysis revealed the presence of hyperplasia (31.4% more muscle fibers) in treatment I (injected with 20 ppm). Our findings indicate that in ovo injection of 20 ppm Nano-Ag enhances the development of muscles in chicken embryos compared with the 40-ppm dosage and provide crucial information for the use of silver nanoparticles in poultry production.

Download Full-text

Active Yeast but Not Henhouse Environment Affects Dropping Moisture Levels in Egg-Laying Hens

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11082179 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 2179

Author(s):

Xue Cheng ◽

Yuchen Liu ◽

Zhong Wang ◽

Lujiang Qu ◽

Zhonghua Ning

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Egg Quality ◽

Animal Health ◽

Egg Laying ◽

Production Costs ◽

Production Performance ◽

Absolute Pressure ◽

Poultry Production ◽

Production Environment ◽

Laying Performance

Dropping moisture (DM) refers to the water content in feces. High DM negatively affects poultry production, environment, production costs, and animal health. Heredity, nutrition, environment, and disease may affect DM level. DM has medium inheritability and is related to cage height in henhouses. We examined the relationship among DM level, production performance, and environmental factors at different locations at the same henhouse height and effects of three types of additives. We measured the correlation between environmental factors including temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration, absolute pressure, and DM levels and laying performance of 934 Rhode Island Red hens. DM level was not significantly associated with environmental factors or production performance. We divided 64 persistently high DM hens into control and treatment groups supplied with different additives (probiotics, anisodamine, and antibiotics). DM levels, laying performance, egg quality, and serum biochemical indices were determined. Compared with the control and antibiotics, probiotics significantly reduced DM levels and eggshell strength while improving yolk color but did not significantly affect production performance. The additives reduced the b value of eggshell color; compared with probiotics, anisodamine decreased serum globulin levels. Exogenous active yeast supplementation can significantly reduce DM levels.

Download Full-text

Embryonic Thermal Manipulation and in ovo Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Supplementation Regulating the Chick Weight and Stress-Related Genes at Hatch

Frontiers in Veterinary Science ◽

10.3389/fvets.2021.807450 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Akshat Goel ◽

Chris Major Ncho ◽

Chae-Mi Jeong ◽

Yang-Ho Choi

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Organ Weight ◽

Aminobutyric Acid ◽

Poultry Production ◽

Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽

Related Gene ◽

In Ovo ◽

Stress Related Genes ◽

Thermal Manipulation

Chickens are exposed to numerous types of stress from hatching to shipping, influencing poultry production. Embryonic manipulation may develop resistance against several stressors. This study investigates the effects of thermoneutral temperature (T0; 37.8°C) with no injection (N0) (T0N0), T0 with 0.6 ml of 10% in ovo gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) supplementation (N1) at 17.5th embryonic day (ED) (T0N1), thermal manipulation (T1) at 39.6°C from the 10th to 18th ED (6 h/day) with N0 (T1N0), and T1 with N1 (T1N1) on hatchability parameters and hepatic expression of stress-related genes in day-old Arbor Acres chicks. The parameters determined were hatchability, body weight (BW), organ weight, hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), and antioxidant-related gene expression. Percent hatchability was calculated on a fertile egg basis. Growth performance was analyzed using each chick as an experimental unit. Eight birds per group were used for organ weight. Two-way ANOVA was used taking temperature and GABA as the main effect for growth performance and gene expression studies. Analysis was performed using an IBM SPSS statistics software package 25.0 (IBM software, Chicago, IL, USA). Hatchability was similar in all the groups and was slightly lower in the T1N1. Higher BW was recorded in both T1 and N1. Intestinal weight and MDA were higher in T0N1 against T0N0 and T1N1, respectively. The expression of HSP70, HSP90, NOX1, and NOX4 genes was higher and SOD and CAT genes were lower in the T1 group. The present results show that T1 and N1 independently improve the BW of broiler chicks at hatch, but T1 strongly regulates stress-related gene expression and suggests that both T1 and N1 during incubation can improve performance and alleviate stress after hatch.

Download Full-text

Effect of Prebiotics from Mannan Oligosaccharides and Fructo-oligosaccharides on Physio-biochemical Indices, Antioxidant and Oxidative Stability of Broiler Chicken Meat

10.21203/rs.3.rs-275707/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Avishek Biswas ◽

Namit Mohan ◽

Kapil Dev ◽

N A Mir ◽

Ashok Kumar Tiwari

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stability ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Control Diet ◽

Feed Additive ◽

Plate Count ◽

Growth Promoter ◽

Poultry Production ◽

Gut Health ◽

Biochemical Indices ◽

Mannan Oligosaccharides

Abstract Antibiotics have revolutionized the intensive poultry production system as a feed additive by promoting growth, production and meat quality through improving gut health and reduction of sub-clinical infections during last five decades. However, currently, the usage of antibiotics in poultry production is under severe scientific and public scrutiny, because antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) has been linked to the possible development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, which may pose a threat to human health. After European Union ban on in feed antibiotics as growth promoter in poultry, since 2006, prebiotics offer a potential substitute to in feed antibiotics. In this effort, the objective of this present study was to investigate the potentiality of prebiotics (mannan oligosaccharides-MOS and fructo-oligosaccharides-FOS) in replacement of antibiotic growth promoter and their relationship with physio-biochemical indices, antioxidant and oxidative stability and carcass traits of broiler chickens meat. 240 day-old broiler chicks (1 d) of uniform body weight were divided into 30 replicate groups having 8 birds in each. Six corn based dietary treatments were formulated viz. T1 (control diet), T2 (T1 + Bacitracin methylene di-salicylate @ 20 mg/kg diet), T3 (T1 + 0.1% MOS), T4 (T1 + 0.2% MOS), T5 (T1 + 0.1% FOS), and T6 (T1 + 0.2% FOS). Significant (P<0.05) increase in cut up part yields (%) and reduction in cholesterol and fat content in T4 (0.2 % MOS) group. The water holding capacity (WHC) and extract release volume (ERV) were increase (P<0.05) in 0.1 or 0.2 % MOS supplemented group. DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazy) was higher (P<0.05) and lipid oxidation (free fatty acid and thio-barbituric acid reactive substances) was lower (P<0.05) in T4 group. The standard plate count (SPC), staphylococcus and coliform counts were decreased (P<0.05) in T3 or T4 group. Thus, it can be concluded that mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) may be incorporated at 0.2% level in diet for improved physio-biochemical indices, antioxidant and oxidative stability and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens meat and it may be suitable replacer of antibiotic growth promoter.

Download Full-text