The Efficiency of Probiotics Administrated via Different Routes and Doses in Enhancing Production Performance, Meat Quality, Gut Morphology, and Microbial Profile of Broiler Chickens.

To study the efficiency of Bacillus spp. probiotics administered via different routes and doses, a 6-week grow-out trial was conducted using a total of 378 day-old mixed-sex ROSS308 broiler chickens in a completely randomized block design. Six experimental diets included probiotics added at two different inclusion rates into the feed (250 g/ton; PRO250, or 500 g/ton; PRO500), or in the drinking water (25 g/L; PRO-WS), or as a feed synbiotic (250 g probiotic + 250 g/ton prebiotic; SYN), compared to a negative (NC; without additives) and positive control (PC; with antibiotics) diets. The PRO-WS enhanced feed intake (p < 0.05) and tended to improve average daily gain and final body weight (p = 0.14). Broiler gut morphology in the duodenum including the villus height (p = 0.04), villus width (p = 0.05) and crypt depth (p = 0.02) were improved by PRO500. Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum, followed by Bacteroidetes. Streptococcaceae, Lachnoospiraceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Erysipe-lotrichaceae were the top five most abundant families. Antibiotic inclusion in PC reduced microbial beta-diversity and increased similarity compared to probiotic inclusion (p = 0.05). Probiotic inclusion reduced the relative abundance of Bacteroides fragilis, which is a commonly isolated pathogen and is considered as a marker for antimicrobial resistance. Overall, probiotic supplementation via feed or water may potentially improve the production performance of the broiler chickens, and water-soluble probiotics are potentially more effective. Probiotics, especially when added to water, suggest a promising feed additive to support gut microbial maturation and diversity, and may reduce resistant bacteria in broiler chickens. However, it is suggested that the best route for the administration of probiotics be further examined under commercial conditions to find the most effective and practical application method that yields the most consistent results.

Enhancing Growth Performance, Organ Development, Meat Quality, and Bone Mineralisation of Broiler Chickens through Multi-Enzyme Super-Dosing in Reduced Energy Diets.

This study identified the optimal multi-enzyme dose rate at three energy levels based on the production performance of broiler chickens. A 42-day grow out trial was conducted using 576 day-old mixed-sex ROSS308 broiler chickens in a 3 × 4 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design. Diets consisting of three metabolizable energy (ME) levels: standard energy (STD), 150 kcal/kg energy reduction (STD-150), and 200 kcal/kg energy reduction (STD-200), were cross factored with four multi-enzyme inclusion levels (0, 350, 700, and 1000 g/ton). The average daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio increased linearly (p < 0.001) as the dietary ME was reduced, and the multi-enzyme addition improved the feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05) and mitigated the negative effect of the reduced energy diets (RED) on feed intake and feed conversion ratios. Carcass composition, organ weights, and meat quality were not affected by the experimental diets. The RED decreased abdominal fat weight (p < 0.05). Total ash, calcium, and phosphorous contents of the tibia bone were improved (p < 0.04) when the RED were supplemented with the multi-enzyme. Super-dosing multi-enzymes in RED mitigates the negative effect of ME reduction on growth performance while maintaining organ development and meat quality and improving bone mineral content.

Nontargeted LC-MS Metabolomics Approach for Metabolic Profiling of Plasma and Urine from Pigs Fed Branched Chain Amino Acids for Maximum Growth Performance.

The metabolic response in plasma and urine of pigs when feeding an optimum level of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) for best growth performance is unknown. The objective of the current study was to identify the metabolic phenotype associated with the BCAAs intake level that could be linked to the animal growth performance. Three dose-response studies were carried out to collect blood and urine samples from pigs fed increasing levels of Ile, Val, or Leu followed by a nontargeted LC-MS approach to characterize the metabolic profile of biofluids when dietary BCAAs are optimum for animal growth. Results showed that concentrations of plasma hypoxanthine and tyrosine (Tyr) were higher while concentrations of glycocholic acid, tauroursodeoxycholic acid, and taurocholic acid were lower when the dietary Ile was optimum. Plasma 3-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid and creatine were lower when dietary Leu was optimum. The optimum dietary Leu resulted in increased urinary excretion of ascorbic acid and choline and relatively decreased excretion of 2-aminoadipic acid, acetyl-dl-valine, Ile, 2-methylbutyrylglycine, and Tyr. In conclusion, plasma glycocholic acid and taurocholic acid were discriminating metabolites to the optimum dietary Ile. The optimum dietary Leu was associated with reduced plasma creatine and urinary 2-aminoadipic acid and elevated urinary excretion of ascorbic acid and choline. The optimum dietary Val had a less pronounced metabolic response reflected in plasma or urine than other BCAA.