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Spotty Liver Disease (SLD) is a serious infectious disease which occurs mainly in laying chickens in free range production systems. SLD outbreaks can increase mortality and decrease egg production of chickens, adversely impact welfare and cause economic hardship for poultry producers. The bacterium Campylobacter hepaticus is the primary cause of the disease. This study aimed to identify the effects of C. hepaticus on chicken gut microbiota and gut structure. Three C. hepaticus strains (HV10T, NSW44L and QLD19L), isolated from different states of Australia, were used in the study. Chickens at 26-weeks post-hatch were orally dosed with one of the C. hepaticus strains (challenged groups) or Brucella broth (unchallenged or control group). Six days after the challenge, birds were necropsied to assess liver damage, and caecal content and tissue samples were collected for histology, microbiology, and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize the composition of the bacterial microbiota. Strain C. hepaticus NSW44L produced significantly more disease compared to the other C. hepaticus strains and this coincided with more adverse changes observed in the caecal microbiota of the birds challenged with this strain compared to the control group. Microbial diversity determined by Shannon and Simpson alpha diversity indices was lower in the NSW44L challenged groups compared to the control group (p = 0.009 and 0.0233 respectively, at genus level). Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) producing bacteria Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium and Megamonas were significantly reduced in the challenged groups compared to the unchallenged control group. Although SLD-induction affected the gut microbiota of chickens, their small intestine morphology was not noticeably affected as there were no significant differences in the villus height or ratio of villus height and crypt depth. As gut health plays a pivotal role in the overall health and productivity of chickens, approaches to improve the gut health of the birds during SLD outbreaks such as through diet and keeping the causes of stress to a minimum, may represent significant ways to alleviate the impact of SLD.

Anthocyanins are secondary metabolic products made by plants; they are ubiquitous in nature. Anthocyanins are pigments that are soluble in water. Therefore they are widely used in food industry as food colorants. This is advantageous as the food regulatory, food safety and food processing guidelines emphasize the reduction in the use of artificial food colorants. In some cases, for example in the United States, the consumption of anthocyanins has been reported to be 12.5 mg day−1 approximately. Several cereals, such as colored wheat, purple corn, colored barley and red rice are regarded as functional raw materials and natural colorants, thanks to their high anthocyanin content. The composition and content of anthocyanins in pigmented cereals are affected by various abiotic and biotic stresses, such as environmental factors (primarily UV-B light). Increased biotic and abiotic stresses on plants results in the production of anthocyanins. In humans, these anthocyanins have health-promoting properties. Consequently there has been an increase in demand for anthocyanins. As technology advances, instruments such as liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry are widely used to identify and quantify anthocyanins in colored cereals. This chapter will provide an in-depth discussion on the composition and measurement of anthocyanins in colored cereals.

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