Effects of Adding Natural Blends of Kaolin and Spices on Broiler Performance, Meat and Bone Quality

Background: The aim is to compare the effectiveness of 3% of natural preparations mixtures based on kaolin associated with garlic, ginger and/or their mixture on the performance, the cutting yield, carcass and bone qualities of broiler. Methods: 192 one-day-old Cobb 500 chicks were assigned to 04 groups of 48 four-replicate chicks (C: without addition; Kgar: 3% kaolin-garlic; Kgin: 3% kaolin-ginger and Kgg: 3% kaolin-garlic-ginger). Result: Results showed that the mixtures significantly improve body weight and feed efficiency at 42 days, with nonetheless a more marked effect for the Kgar group (BW: +4.5%; FCR: -5.5%). In addition, still in favor of the Kgar group, the same tendency was recorded for the yield of chicken ready-to-cook (+3.2%; P=0.02) accompanied by enhanced breast and thighs yields. In terms of quality, the mixtures significantly impacted the meat conservation criteria by reducing water-holding capacity by almost 50% and less abdominal fat deposition. Finally, although not significant, the indicators of bone quality measured (ash content and seedor index) appear better in chickens receiving mixtures. The results of this study show the interest of adding a mixture of kaolin and condiments in improving broiler performance, meat quality and bone characteristics.

Composite trait Mendelian randomization reveals distinct metabolic and lifestyle consequences of differences in body shape

Obesity is a major risk factor for a wide range of cardiometabolic diseases, however the impact of specific aspects of body morphology remains poorly understood. We combined the GWAS summary statistics of fourteen anthropometric traits from UK Biobank through principal component analysis to reveal four major independent axes: body size, adiposity, predisposition to abdominal fat deposition, and lean mass. Mendelian randomization analysis showed that although body size and adiposity both contribute to the consequences of BMI, many of their effects are distinct, such as body size increasing the risk of cardiac arrhythmia (b = 0.06, p = 4.2 ∗ 10−17) while adiposity instead increased that of ischemic heart disease (b = 0.079, p = 8.2 ∗ 10−21). The body mass-neutral component predisposing to abdominal fat deposition, likely reflecting a shift from subcutaneous to visceral fat, exhibited health effects that were weaker but specifically linked to lipotoxicity, such as ischemic heart disease (b = 0.067, p = 9.4 ∗ 10−14) and diabetes (b = 0.082, p = 5.9 ∗ 10−19). Combining their independent predicted effects significantly improved the prediction of obesity-related diseases (p < 10−10). The presented decomposition approach sheds light on the biological mechanisms underlying the heterogeneity of body morphology and its consequences on health and lifestyle.

Long-term melatonin treatment attenuates body weight gain with aging in female mice.

Women usually experience body weight gain with aging, which can put them at risk for many chronic diseases. Previous studies indicated that melatonin treatment attenuates body weight gain and abdominal fat deposition in several male animals. However, it is unclear whether melatonin affects female animals in the same way. This study investigated whether long-term melatonin treatment can attenuate body weight gain with aging and, if it does, what the mechanism is. Ten-week-old female ICR mice were given melatonin-containing water (100 μg/mL) or water only until 43 weeks. Melatonin treatment significantly attenuated body weight gain at 23 weeks (control; 57.2±2.0 g vs. melatonin; 44.4±3.1 g), 33 weeks (control; 65.4±2.6 g vs. melatonin; 52.2±4.2 g) and 43 weeks (control; 66.1±3.2 g vs. melatonin; 54.4±2.5 g) without decreasing the amount of food intake. Micro-CT analyses showed that melatonin significantly decreased the deposition of visceral and subcutaneous fat. These results suggested that melatonin attenuates body weight gain by inhibiting abdominal fat deposition. Metabolome analysis of the liver revealed that melatonin treatment induced a drastic change in the metabolome with the down-regulation of 149 metabolites, including the metabolites of glucose and amino acids. Citrate, which serves as a source of de novo lipogenesis, was one of the down-regulated metabolites. These results show that long-term melatonin treatment induces drastic changes of metabolism and attenuates body weight gain and fat deposition with aging in female mice.

Specific Microbial Taxa and Functional Capacity Contribute to Chicken Abdominal Fat Deposition

Genetically selected chickens with better growth and early maturation show an incidental increase in abdominal fat deposition (AFD). Accumulating evidence reveals a strong association between gut microbiota and adiposity. However, studies focusing on the role of gut microbiota in chicken obesity in conventional breeds are limited. Therefore, 400 random broilers with different levels of AFD were used to investigate the gut microbial taxa related to AFD by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 76 representative samples, and to identify the specific microbial taxa contributing to fat-related metabolism using shotgun metagenomic analyses of eight high and low AFD chickens. The results demonstrated that the richness and diversity of the gut microbiota decrease as the accumulation of chicken abdominal fat increases. The decrease of Bacteroidetes and the increase of Firmicutes were correlated with the accumulation of chicken AFD. The Bacteroidetes phylum, including the genera Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and the species, B. salanitronis, B. fragilis, and P. distasonis, were correlated to alleviate obesity by producing secondary metabolites. Several genera of Firmicutes phylum with circulating lipoprotein lipase activity were linked to the accumulation of chicken body fat. Moreover, the genera, Olsenella and Slackia, might positively contribute to fat and energy metabolism, whereas the genus, Methanobrevibacter, was possible to enhance energy capture, and associated to accumulate chicken AFD. These findings provide insights into the roles of the gut microbiota in complex traits and contribute to the development of effective therapies for the reduction of chicken fat accumulation.

Consensus module analysis of abdominal fat deposition across multiple broiler lines

Background Despite several RNA-Seq and microarray studies on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between high- and low-abdominal fat deposition in different broiler lines, to our knowledge, gene coexpression analysis across multiple broiler lines has rarely been reported. Here, we constructed a consensus gene coexpression network focused on identifying consensus gene coexpression modules associated with abdominal fat deposition across multiple broiler lines using two public RNA-Seq datasets (GSE42980 and GSE49121). Results In the consensus gene coexpression network, we identified eight consensus modules significantly correlated with abdominal fat deposition across four broiler lines using the consensus module analysis function in the weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) package. The eight consensus modules were moderately to strongly preserved in the abdominal fat RNA-Seq dataset of another broiler line (SRP058295). Furthermore, we identified 5462 DEGs between high- and low-abdominal fat lines (FL and LL) (GSE42980) and 6904 DEGs between high- and low-growth (HG and LG) (GSE49121), including 1828 overlapping DEGs with similar expression profiles in both datasets, which were clustered into eight consensus modules. Pyruvate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and steroid biosynthesis were significantly enriched in the green, yellow, and medium purple 3 consensus modules. The PPAR signaling pathway and adipocytokine signaling pathway were significantly enriched in the green and purple consensus modules. Autophagy, mitophagy, and lysosome were significantly enriched in the medium purple 3 and yellow consensus modules. Conclusion Based on lipid metabolism pathways enriched in eight consensus modules and the overexpression of numerous lipogenic genes in both FL vs. LL and HG vs. LG, we hypothesize that more fatty acids, triacylglycerols (TAGs), and cholesterol might be synthesized in broilers with high abdominal fat than in broilers with low abdominal fat. According to autophagy, mitophagy, and lysosome enrichment in eight consensus modules, we inferred that autophagy might participate in broiler abdominal fat deposition. Altogether, these studies suggest eight consensus modules associated with abdominal fat deposition in broilers. Our study also provides an idea for investigating the molecular mechanism of abdominal fat deposition across multiple broiler lines.

REPLACEMENT VALUE BISCUIT WASTE FOR MAIZE IN BROILER DIETS.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the inclusion of biscuit waste in broiler diets. Performance was measured as growth rate and feed efficiency when 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of maize in a control diet was replaced by the by-product and fed to broilers for 12 weeks. Substitution for maize at 100% level significantly (P<0.05) affected performance although he cost of feed/kg live weight gain was N1.41 com­pared with ₦1.82 for the control diet. Ikletabolizable energy and nitrogen retention was not affected by dietary treatment but fat retention was significantly higher (P< 0.05) at 75 and 100% substitution. The carcass weights expressed as percentage of liveweights were not significantly affected but abdominal fat deposition was higher of the high levels of inclusion of biscuit waste. When maize was completely eliminated from the diet, bulking with 5, 7.5 or 10% maize cob as additional fibre source increas­ed feed intake but inclusion beyond 5% level did not improve feed efficiency. Fat and nitrogen retention and abdominal fat deposi­ted significantly (P • 0.05) decreased at 7.5 and 10% maize cob inclusion but gizzard weight increased.

Comparative Effects of Copper and Terramycin on Performance of Broiler Chicks and Growers

BROILER chicks were divided into twelve groups each of which had either the basal ration, the basal ration, and terramycin, the basal ration and graded levels of copper, or the basal ration and both the antibiotic and copper. Broiler growers were fed similarly. High level of dietary copper [300 ppm] depressed growth. A range of 100 to 200 ppm dietary copper produced liveweight gain as much as terramycin. No additional advantage was gained by combining both copper and terramycin. Either terramycin or 100 ppm copper gave equivalent body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion in the broiler chick starters and growers. Lack of either dietary copper or terramycin resulted in high mortality. Combinations of dietary copper and terramycin stimulated abdominal fat deposition. It is concluded that either terramycin or 100 ppm dietary could be used for stimulating growth and for preventing enteritis in broilers and the choice of either would depend on availability and cost.