The effects of raw (GP) and fermented grape pomace (FGP) on the growth performance, some carcass parameters, antioxidant status, intestinal morphology, and selected bacterial species in broiler chicken were investigated in this study. Grape pomace was fermented with Aspergillus niger for 7 d. In total, 140 one-day-old male chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to four treatment groups, with five replicates and seven birds each. Chickens were fed either a basal diet (CON) or the basal diet supplemented with 0.25 g/kg synthetic antioxidants (5% butylated hydroxytoluene, 1% butylated hydroxyanisole, and 11% ethoxyquin) (AO), or 15 g/kg GP (GP), or 15 g/kg FGP (FGP) for 42 d. Dietary GP raised serum glutathione peroxidase (p = 0.031) and superoxide dismutase (p = 0.021) levels, increased ileum lamina muscularis thickness (p = 0.016), and did not affect selected bacterial species in the cecum of broiler chickens. Dietary FGP improved body weight (p = 0.003), increased the serum catalase level (p = 0.032), and decreased the cecal Clostridium perfringens count (p = 0.033) but did not affect the ileal morphology of broiler chickens. The carcass parameters, malondialdehyde level, pH, and color of the breast meat of chickens were not changed by either GP or FGP supplementation. Chickens fed with the synthetic antioxidants had similar growth performance with the chickens fed with FGP but had better body weight (p = 0.003) and feed conversion ratio (p = 0.045) compared with the chickens fed with GP. The obtained results showed that FGP can be used as an alternative to synthetic antioxidants in broiler diets.

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This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary raw sour cherry kernel (RC) or fermented sour cherry kernel (FC) on apparent digestibility, ileal morphology, and caecal microflora in broiler chickens. Raw sour cherry kernel was fermented by Aspergillus niger for 7 D. A total of 343 one-day-old Ross 308 male chicks were assigned to 7 dietary treatments consisting of 7 replicates of 7 broilers each. All birds were fed with a commercial diet or diets supplemented with 1%, 2%, or 4% RC or FC. The experimental period was 42 D. Apparent dry matter (DM), nitrogen and ash digestibilities were diminished ( P < 0.05) by dietary RC inclusion, although dietary FC did not negatively affect ( P > 0.05) nutrient digestibility. Dietary 1% FC increased ( P < 0.01) the villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) compared with the other treatment groups, although RC4 reduced the villus height (VH, P < 0.001) and VH:CD ( P < 0.01), compared with the control group. Dietary treatments had no effect ( P > 0.05) on the crypt depth (CD). Birds fed 1% FC had the highest ( P < 0.05) caecal Lactobacillus spp. counts among the treatment groups. Enterococcus spp. and Escherichia coli counts in cecum were not affected ( P > 0.05) by dietary treatments. The results showed that the dietary inclusion of 1% FC improved ileal morphology and caecal microflora without any adverse effect on the apparent digestibility. These results indicate that FC has the potential to be a feed additive which improves intestinal health for broiler diets.

Altop, I. Coskun, G. Filik, A. Kucukgul, Y.G. Bekiroglu, H. Cayan, E. Gungor, A. Sahin and G. Erener. 2018. Amino acids, minerals, condensed tannin, and other chemical contents in olive leaves (Olea europaea L.) processed via solid-state fermentation using selected Aspergillus niger strains. Cien. Inv. Agr. 45(3): 220-230.The present study aimed to examine the effects of solid-state fermentation (SSF) using selective A. niger strains on the amino acid, mineral, condensed tannin, and other chemical contents of olive leaves. The dried samples were divided into nonfermented (C) and fermented (F) olive leaves, and the latter were fermented by the following A. niger strains: ATCC ® 9142 TM (F1), ATCC ® 200345 TM (F2), ATCC ® 52172 TM (F3), and ATCC ® 201572 TM (F4), with three replicates for each treatment. Group F4 presented the best results, although all fermented groups generally presented higher performance than C. The total content of amino acids of the fermented olive leaves increased by 68-209% in comparison to that of C, while the cellulose content of the fermented olive leaves decreased by 7-25%. The ash, crude protein (CP), and ether extract (EE) contents increased after fermentation, but the crude fiber (CF) and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) contents decreased. The content of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) did not change, but acid detergent fiber (ADF) varied among the groups. The starch and sugar contents of all fermented groups except F1 also decreased compared to those of C. The mineral contents increased in all fermented groups, and the condensed tannin content varied according to the A. niger strain used. Thus, olive leaves fermented with different A. niger strains, especially F4, seem to have considerable potential as ruminant feed, as they are enriched with amino acids and minerals and have an improved chemical composition. However, these results should be supported and validated by animal experiments.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of solid-state fermentation on the nutritional composition of cottonseed meal (CSM), sunflower meal (SFM) and hazelnut kernel meal (HKM). In this study, each feedstuff was divided into two treatment groups (unfermented and fermented) with five replicates. Nutritional changes in the feedstuffs were determined by analyzing crude protein, ether extract, ash, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber contents. Solid-state fermentation had effects on the nutritional composition in all feedstuffs. The best improvement in nutritional quality was obtained from the HKM with increasing the crude protein and decreasing the structural carbohydrates content. Fermented HKM can be considered as an alternative protein feed for soybean meal considering the nutritional composition.