Effects of caprylic acid and Yucca schidigera extract on growth performance, relative organ weight, breast meat quality, haematological characteristics and caecal microbial shedding in mixed sex Ross 308 broiler Dickens

Abstract

Caprylic acid (CA) and Yucca schidigera (YS) extract have many functional and nutritional properties that may have applications in animal nutrition. These beneficial effects include improvement of growth performance, immunity and anti-microbial activity. This study was conducted to assess the effects of dietary supplementation with CA and YS extract on growth performance, relative organ weight, meat quality, blood characteristics and caecal microbial shedding in broilers. In total, 672 one-day-old Ross 308 (BW of 34.05 ± 0.21 g) mixed-sex broiler chicks were allotted randomly into three dietary treatment groups with 14 replicate pens per treatment and 16 birds per pen. The experiment lasted for five weeks and dietary treatments were as follows: (1) PC, basal diet; (2) PC, basal diet + 44 mg/kg of avilamycin; and (3) CAY100 (basal diet + 100 mg/kg CA + 100 mg/kg YS extract). Chicks fed the CAY100 diet exhibited improved overall body weight gain (BWG) and feed intake (FI), and reduced feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared with those fed the NC diet (P < 0.05). Compared with the NC and PC treatments, mortality was decreased in chicks fed the CAY100 diet during the finisher phase and also overall. Broilers fed the CAY100 diet exhibited increased (P < 0.05) relative organ weight of bursa of Fabricius, compared with the PC diet and demonstrated decreased relative organ weight of the gizzard compared with those fed the NC diet. The relative organ weight of the liver, spleen, breast, and abdominal fat was unaffected by any of the dietary supplements tested. The breast meat redness (a*) was reduced (P < 0.05) in the CAY100 diet compared with the NC and PC diets. White blood cell (WBC) counts were increased in the CAY100 treatment compared with the NC treatment (P < 0.05). Moreover, the CAY100 diet resulted in improved lymphocyte counts compared with the PC and NC diets (P < 0.05). Broilers fed the CAY100 diet exhibited reduced caecal E. coli counts compared with those fed the NC diet (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the CAY extract-supplemented diet improved growth performance, relative weight of bursa of Fabricius and reduced mortality rate, breast muscle a* and caecal E. coli counts in broiler chickens.Keywords: broilers; caprylic acid; E. coli; lymphocyte; breast meat redness; Yucca schidigera List of abbreviations a* = breast meat redness; BW = body weight; BWG = body weight gain; CA = caprylic acid; FCR = feed conversion ratio; FI = feed intake; WBC = white blood cell; YS = Yucca schidigera

Addition of Moringa Oleifera Leaves Powder and Medium Chain Fatty Acids in the Diets and Their Effect on Productive Performance of Broiler Chickens

“…Also, these results are in harmony with those obtained by Begum et al (2015) who reported that no significant differences were observed in total protein or RBCs with supplementation of MCFAs, while, had higher WBCs compared with the control group. Moreover, broilers fed the MCFAs diet exhibited increased lymphocyte counts compared with the control diets.…”

“…Previously, aromabiotic was shown to be effective against a wide range of opportunistic microorganisms, including E. coli (Khosravinia, 2015), Salmonella (Van Immerseel et al, 2004), Campylobacter and Clostridia (Hermans et al, 2011) which are more harmful to broiler performance in stressful conditions. On other hand Begum et al (2015) found that E. coli counts were reduced with MCFAs diet (6.62 log 10 cfu/g) when compared with the control diet.…”

“…Development of these organs is also considered to be crucial for optimal lymphocyte synthesis (Glick, 1977). The inclusion of dietary MCFAs increased the relative weight of the bursa of Fabricius in broilers compared with the control treatment (Begum et al, 2015).…”

Dietary Yucca schidigera extract improved growth performance and liver antioxidative function in broilers

“…There are now studies available combining YSE with other additives such as caprylic acid (Wang & Kim 2011;Begum et al 2015), coccidiostat (Alfaro et al 2007), zeolite (Çabuk et al 2004), yeast cell walls (Gurbuz et al 2011), or coccidiosis vaccine (Alfaro et al 2007), to explore their potentials in improving the performance of livestock. Our results showed that YSE alone exhibited greatest potentials in the finisher phase of broilers, which gives us a cue to explore the combining effects of YSE and other additives, to see if they could improve the productivity of animals in a wider range of time.…”

Can Yucca schidigera Be Used to Enhance the Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Gut Histomorphology, Cecal Microflora, Carcass Characteristic, and Meat Quality of Commercial Broilers Raised under Tropical Conditions?

“…The use of phytogenic feed additives such as Y. shidigera containing steroidal saponins was found to improve intestinal health, reducing microbial pressure and stabilizing bowel health while preventing intestinal disorder, which could lead to improved nutrient digestibility and absorption [ 17 ]. The intestinal presence of saponins has previously been shown to influence the permeability of the membrane and the cellular transport of molecules such as macromolecules.…”