Effects of Dietary Inclusion of Bilberry and Walnut Leaves Powder on the Digestive Performances and Health of Tetra SL Laying Hens

Popescu, Roua Gabriela; Voicu, Sorina Nicoleta; Pîrcălăbioru, Grațiela Grădișteanu; Ciceu, Alina; Gharbia, Sami; Georgescu, Sergiu Emil; Panaite, Tatiana Dumitra; Dinischiotu, Anca

doi:10.3390/ani10050823

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…This sample size was calculated for a two-sided t-test of two groups with an α of 0.05 and power at 0.8, with an effect size of 1.2 [ 50 ]. Available literature data on laying hens show that for these assumptions n = 12 sample size has a power of 80% to detect a change of 5% in tibia breaking strength [ 51 ], a change of 8% in blood serum cholesterol content [ 52 ], and a change of 3% and 7% in duodenum villus length and crypt depth, respectively [ 53 ], assuming a 5% significance level. The normality of the data was tested using the Shapiro-Wilk normality test and the homogeneity of variances was tested using Levene’s test.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpha-Ketoglutarate: An Effective Feed Supplement in Improving Bone Metabolism and Muscle Quality of Laying Hens: A Preliminary Study

Tomaszewska

Świątkiewicz

Arczewska-Włosek

et al. 2020

Animals

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The aim of the experiment was to assess the effect of dietary alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) supplementation on performance, serum hormonal indices, duodenum and jejunum histomorphometry, meat quality characteristics, bone quality traits and cartilage degradation in laying hens with a mature skeletal system. Forty-eight 30 week-old Bovans Brown laying hens were randomly assigned to a control group or the group fed the basal diet plus 1.0% AKG. The experimental trial lasted 30 weeks. The supplementation of AKG increases blood serum content of leptin, ghrelin, bone alkaline phosphatate and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand, while osteoprotegerin and osteocalcin decrease. While dietary AKG was given to laying hens negatively influenced villus length, crypt depth, villus/crypt ratio and absorptive surface area in duodenum and jejunum, these changes have no effect on feed intake, weight gain, nor laying performance. In breast muscles, no significant changes in skeletal muscle fatty acid composition were observed, however, a higher shear force and decreased cholesterol content following AKG supplementation were noted, showing the improvement of muscle quality. While dietary AKG supplementation did not affect the general geometric and mechanical properties of the tibia, it increased collagen synthesis and enhanced immature collagen content. In medullary bone, an increase of bone volume fraction, trabecular thickness, fractal dimension and decrease of trabecular space were observed in AKG supplemented group. The trabeculae in bone metaphysis were also significantly thicker after AKG supplementation. AKG promoted fibrillogenesis in articular cartilage, as indicated by increased cartilage oligomeric matrix protein immunoexpression. By improving the structure and maintaining the proper bone turnover rate of highly reactive and metabolically active medullar and trabecular bones AKG showed its anti-osteoporotic action in laying hens.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpha-Ketoglutarate: An Effective Feed Supplement in Improving Bone Metabolism and Muscle Quality of Laying Hens: A Preliminary Study

Tomaszewska

Świątkiewicz

Arczewska-Włosek

et al. 2020

Animals

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“…After slaughtering the broiler chickens. samples from intestinal contents from the distal portion of the duodenum and jejunum were collected in order to perform enzymatic analysis (alpha-amylase, trypsin, and endo-β-1,4-glucanase); samples from the intestinal wall of the distal portion of the duodenum and jejunum were collected in order to perform enzymatic analysis (invertase and maltase) and histologic analyses; and samples from the cecal intestinal content were collected in order to perform microbiome characterization, according to Popescu et al [12].…”

Section: Poultry and Experimental Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alpha-Amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) activity was quantified using a modified version of the protocol by Bernfeld [42] in a reaction mixture with a final volume of 405 µL. Trypsin (EC 3.4.21.4) activity was assayed according to the method described by Hummel [43] and modified according to Popescu et al [12]. Lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) activity was determined using the Lipase Activity Colorimetric Assay Kit instructions (code K 722; Bio Vision, Milpitas, CA, USA).…”

Section: Enzymatic Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After chickens were sacrificed, samples of cecal contents were collected from each experimental batch (n = 10 animals per group). The changes in the microbiome were assessed by the qRT-PCR technique as described by Popescu et al [12]. The primer sequences used are shown in Table 1, and Eubacteria primers were used as internal control.…”

Section: Microbiome Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of Dietary Supplementation of Flaxseed Meal on Intestinal Morphology, Specific Enzymatic Activity, and Cecal Microbiome in Broiler Chickens

et al. 2021

Self Cite

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The use of natural feed additives could be a beneficial approach to maintaining the health of chickens and a way to improve food digestion. Flaxseed is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid, oleic acid, and fiber. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary inclusion of 4% flaxseed on the intestinal morphology, specific enzymatic activity, and cecal microbiome in broiler chickens. The 4-week feeding trial was conducted on 100 Cobb 500 (14 days of age) unsexed broiler chickens divided into two groups: a control group (C) and an experimental group (E). The broilers were housed in boxes of size 3 m2 (each group was housed in a single box with 10 replicates, 5 chickens per replicate) and reared on permanent wood shaves litter (10–12 cm thick). At the end of the experiment, chickens (n = 10) were sacrificed and tissue samples were harvested from the duodenum, jejunum, and cecum for histological, enzymatic, and microbiome analyses. In group E, histological analysis revealed a significant increase in villus height (p < 0.001) possibly leading to enhanced intestinal nutrient absorption. An increase in the specific activities of α-amylase (p < 0.05), invertase (p < 0.01), and endo-β-1,4-glucanase (p < 0.001) was noticed in the E group for the duodenum and jejunum compared to the control group. In contrast, maltase activity decreased in the duodenum and increased in the jejunum in the E group. The trypsin and lipase specific activities did not vary in a significant way. In addition, the cecal microbiome of the E group was characterized by an increase in Lactobacilli (p < 0.01) and Clostridium coccoides and a decrease in Bacteroides, Ruminoccocus, Enterobacteriaceae, and Clostridium leptum. In conclusion, our results suggest that dietary supplementation of flaxseed meal may boost intestinal health status in poultry.

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“…Compared with the control diets (C-TN; C-HS), the experimental diets (PM-TN; PM-HS) included the addition of 1% phytogenic mixture (40% bilberry leaves, 20% peppermint leaves, 20% fennel leaves and 20% sea buckthorn meal) (Table 2). The percent of inclusion was based on the antioxidant capacity of plants reported by literature: bilberry leaves (Panaite et al, 2019;Popescu et al, 2020;Varzaru et al, 2020); fennel (Nagy et al, 2014); peppermint (Brown et al, 2019); sea buckthorn meal (Panaite et al, 2016). Also, from our analyses, bilberry leaves showed the highest antioxidant capacity and therefore we included in a higher rate in the phytogenic mixture.…”

Section: Birds and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary phytogenic mixture for broilers reared under thermoneutral and heat stress conditions

Sărăcilă

Dumitra

Puia

et al. 2020

Archiva Zootechnica

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During two feeding trials, the effect of dietary phytogenic mixture on the performance and oxidative stress biomarkers in the liver of broilers reared under thermoneutral conditions (TN) and heat stress (HS) was studied. A number of 60 Cobb 500 chicks/trial were sheltered in environmentally-controlled digestibility cages. On the 14 days of age, the chicks were weighted and assigned to four groups (2 groups/trial with 30 chicks/group). In the first trial, two groups (C-TN and PM-TN) were kept in thermoneutral conditions. In the second trial, other two groups were kept (C-HS and PM-HS) in heat stress (32 ±1 °C). The structure of diets was the same in both experiments. Compared with the control diet (C), the experimental diet (PM) contained the addition of 1% phytogenic mixture (bilberry leaves, peppermint leaves, fennel leaves and sea buckthorn meal). Irrespective of temperature conditions, dietary PM did not affect broiler’s performance. The dietary supplementation of PM delayed protein and lipid oxidation in the liver tissue of broilers in both trials by increasing the hepatic catalase, glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity.

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Effects of Dietary Inclusion of Bilberry and Walnut Leaves Powder on the Digestive Performances and Health of Tetra SL Laying Hens

Cited by 12 publications

References 71 publications

Alpha-Ketoglutarate: An Effective Feed Supplement in Improving Bone Metabolism and Muscle Quality of Laying Hens: A Preliminary Study

Alpha-Ketoglutarate: An Effective Feed Supplement in Improving Bone Metabolism and Muscle Quality of Laying Hens: A Preliminary Study

Impact of Dietary Supplementation of Flaxseed Meal on Intestinal Morphology, Specific Enzymatic Activity, and Cecal Microbiome in Broiler Chickens

Dietary phytogenic mixture for broilers reared under thermoneutral and heat stress conditions

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