1. The effect of dietary probiotic supplementation on the growth, nitrogen utilisation and serum cholesterol content of broiler chickens was studied in 2 trials. 2. In experiment 1, the birds receiving the 0, 75, 100, 125 mg probiotic/kg diets had weight gains of 1204.0, 1272.0, 1268.3 and 1210.5, respectively at the end of 8 weeks of feeding. The group of birds fed on the 75 mg probiotic supplemented diet retained significantly (P < 0.01) more nitrogen than the control birds. Serum cholesterol content was lower in the probiotic-supplemented birds (93.3 mg/100 ml) compared to the control birds (132.2 mg/100 ml). 3. In the second experiment the probiotic plus antibiotic-supplemented group of birds had the maximum weight gain (1148.5 g) followed by antibiotic (1141.3 g), probiotic-supplemented (1128.4 g) and control birds (1045.6 g) after 6 weeks. Nitrogen retention was greatest in the antibiotic--(48.5%) followed by the probiotic--(46.5%), probiotic plus antibiotic-supplemented groups (46.3%) compared to 40.2% in control birds. 4. The apparent metabolisable energy was greatest in birds receiving the probiotic plus antibiotic-supplemented diet (12.37 MJ/kg) followed by antibiotic--(12.00 MJ/kg), probiotic-supplemented birds (11.92 MJ/kg) than in control birds (11.62 MJ/kg). Serum cholesterol was significantly (P < 0.01) lower in probiotic-supplemented birds (86.1 mg/dl) compared to 118.4 mg/dl in control birds.

1. The effect of probiotic supplementation on egg production, on serum and yolk cholesterol and on egg shell thickness in 24 White Leghorn layers was studied from 28-38 weeks of age. 2. In 3 treatments the diet was supplemented with 0, 100 and 150 mg probiotic/kg food. 3. In the 100 mg probiotic group, egg production improved by 5%, and shell thickness improved slightly, with fewer thin-shelled eggs than in the control (8.6% compared to 18.6%). 4. The initial serum cholesterol concentration of 170.2 mg/dl in control birds remained similar throughout the 10-week experimental period, whereas in the 150 mg group the initial value of 176.5 mg/dl decreased to 114.3 mg by week 10. 5. Yolk cholesterol concentration was 14.69 mg in the control group and 11.28 and 11.37 mg/g in the 100 and 150 mg probiotic groups respectively. Overall mean total egg cholesterol was thus reduced by probiotic supplementation.

This study was conducted with the objective of fortifying emulsion‐based low‐fat chicken meat balls with dietary fiber sources and studying their characteristics and composition. Three experiments were conducted in which chicken meat balls were performed with the addition of pearl millet flour (PMF) and wheat flour (WF) combination in Experiment 1, with grape pomace powder (GPP) and pomegranate pomace powder (PPP) combination in Experiment 2, and with carrot pomace powder (CPP) and beetroot pomace powder (BPP) combination in Experiment 3 along with a control in each experiment and assessed for physicochemical and sensory characteristics. One best treatment from each experiment was selected based on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics, and the proximate composition of those treatments was assessed. Ether extract level was significantly (p ≤ .01) lower in the CPP–BPP treatment. Total ash was significantly (p ≤ .01) higher in the PMF–WF treatment. Insoluble fiber level was significantly (p ≤ .01) higher in GPP–PPP and CPP–BPP treatments. Inclusion of the fruit and vegetable sources had improved the fiber level, and inclusion of millets had enhanced the total ash content of the chicken meat balls. Practical applications Meat is protein‐rich food with high biological value containing various vitamins, minerals, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Since meat is devoid of dietary fiber, which is considered as its major disadvantage, adding dietary fiber sources to meat products would enhance the nutritional value of meat. At present, chicken meat is mostly preferred by the consumers due to its leanness and low cost, and hence developing a functional chicken meat product would be an apt choice. Utilization of the common sources that are used in the regular cuisine/diet would satisfy the consumers to accept the product without any hesitation. In this study, common food ingredients such as pearl millet, wheat, grape, pomegranate, carrot, and beetroot had been used as functional components to fortify the chicken meat balls.

Aim:An in vivo experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of supplementation of cinnamon oil (CO) and sodium butyrate on carcass characteristics and meat quality of broiler chicken compared with the antibiotic supplementation.Materials and Methods:A biological experiment was carried out with 216-day-old Vencobb-400 broiler chicks randomly distributed to six experimental treatments with six replicates, each replicate containing six chicks with equal numbers of male and female chicks. The experimental diets were prepared with isocaloric and isonitrogenous basis. The experimental groups, namely control (T1), control with antibiotic (T2), control with CO at 250 mg/kg and coated sodium butyrate (CSB) either at 0.09 (T3) or 0.18% (T4), and control with CO at 500 mg/kg and CSB either at 0.09 (T5) or 0.18% (T6). The trial was carried out in deep litter pen for 35 days. The carcass characteristics such as ready to cooked yield, eviscerated weight, heart, liver, gizzard, giblet, and abdominal fat percent in slaughtered birds and meat quality properties such as pH, water-holding capacity (WHC), tyrosine, shear force, cooking loss, thiobarbituric acid, sensory characteristics, and muscle cholesterol in breast muscle samples were evaluated.Results:The carcass characteristics such as ready-to-cook yield, eviscerated weight, and weight of heart, liver, gizzard, giblet, and abdominal fat as a percent of live body weight were not influenced by supplementation of CO and CSB at the levels attempted or by antibiotic supplementation in broilers. The pH, cooking loss, shear force and WHC of meat, appearance, flavor, texture, mouth coating, juiciness and overall acceptability of meat were not influenced by the supplementation of different levels of CO and CSB or by antibiotic supplementation but decreased meat cholesterol level in broilers.Conclusion:The results indicated that the supplementation of CO and CSB in broiler diet did not alter the carcass characteristics and meat quality parameters except meat cholesterol content in broilers.

Graphical abstract Possible contaminant route of heavy metals in human through chicken consumption.