Effect of bee glue on growth performance and immune response of broiler chickens

Abstract

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of bee glue (BG) on the performance, relative visceral weights, some blood parameters, and immune status of broilers. A total of 200 male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 5 dietary treatments: basal diet (BD), and basal diet supplemented with 600, 700, 800, and 900 mg kg −1 of BG. Each of the 5 diets was fed to 4 replicates of 10 chicks each from 0 to 42 days of age. The results indicated that the highest body weight, average daily gain, average daily feed intake, carcass weight, and carcass yield were observed in broilers offered 800 mg kg −1 of BG (P < .05). Inclusion of BG improved the feed conversion ratio compared with the control group (P < .01). The calculated European broiler index and crop percentage were greater for the birds received 800 and 900 mg kg −1 of BG compared with that of the control birds (P < .05). Inclusion of 900 mg kg −1 of BG significantly increased the relative weight of spleen and bursa, but reduced total triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL, and LDL: HDL ratio than the control group (P < .05). The serum IgG and IgM levels were increased for the birds received 700 to 900 mg kg −1 BG (P < .01), and addition of BG to the basal diet significantly increased antibody response against sheep red blood cell at 35 days of age (P < .05). It was concluded that an addition of 800 mg kg −1 BG to diet improves economic efficiency possibly by creating miniscule improvement in FCR and promoting immune response of broilers. ARTICLE HISTORY

Recent Advances in Role of Propolis as Natural Additive in Poultry Nutrition

“…The serum antibody titer is a valid indicator of humoral immunity in poultry and plays an important role in the host's defense against infections. Serum IgG and IgM concentrations in the broilers receiving 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 g/kg of propolis were significantly higher than those in control birds, suggesting that high levels of propolis modulate humoral immunity in broilers (Zafarnejad, Nazar, & Mostafa, 2017). Similarly, the addition of 3.0 g propolis/kg in the diet of broiler chickens and laying hens resulted in significant increases in the serum IgG and IgM levels and significant decreases in the peripheral blood T-lymphocytes compared with those of the controls (Çetin et al, 2010;Shihab & Ali, 2012).…”

“…The bursa and spleen are sites of B cell and T cell differentiation, respectively. Zafarnejad, Nazar, & Mostafa (2017) reported that the inclusion of 0.9 g/kg propolis in the broiler diet significantly increased the relative weight of bursa (0.202 mg/kg) and spleen (0. 140 mg/kg) as compared to the control group (0.…”

“…10 or 0. 15g/kg diet; Galal et al, 2008), broiler chickens (0.30 to 0.90g/kg diet; Attia et al, 2014;Haščík et al, 2016;Zafarnejad, Nazar, & Use of Propolis in Poultry diet Mostafa, 2017) and Japanese quail (0.25 or 0.50 g/kg diet; Zeweil et al, 2016). The decrease in triglycerides and cholesterol may be attributed to propolis that either plays a major role as antioxidant material to increase glutathione enzyme activity, or contains such components as essential fatty acids which inhibit hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity which is a key regulatory enzyme in cholesterol synthesis (Matsui et al, 2004;Babińska et al, 2013).…”

“…In another experiment, a combination of flower pollen and propolis (2.5:1), used as a feed additive, increased the BW of chickens by nearly 10% in comparison with the control group (Zeng et al, 2004). In different studies, various levels of propolis per kg broiler's diet like 0.05g (Kleczek et al, 2014), 0.25g (Roodsari et al, 2004), 0.5 & 1.5 g (Abbas, 2014), 0.6 to 0.9 g (Zafarnejad, Nazar, & Mostafa, 2017), 3.0g (Hosseini et al, 2016) and 5.0g greatly improved BW, BWG and feed conversion ratios (FCR). The dose response of propolis has been reported to greatly increase the BW and BWG of broiler chickens when feeding propolis at 0.05, 0.…”

“…), Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. vulgaris and P. aeruginosa), Helicobacter pylori, protozoa (T. cruzi), fungi (Candida albicans) and viruses (HIV, Herpes viruses or influenza viruses). Recent studies have suggested an increase in the production performance in poultry fed diets with propolis (Shalmany & Shivazad, 2006;Seven, Aksu, & Tatli, 2010;Tekeli, Kutlu, & Çelik, 2011;Zafarnejad, Nazar, & Mostafa, 2017). These advantages could be related to effect of propolis on gastrointestinal microbiota, which increase the levels of beneficial bacteria and decrease the pathogenic types (Kacaniova et al, 2012).…”