Effects of Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) and Spirulina (Spirulina platensis) Dietary Supplementation on Laying Hens Productivity and Oxidative Status

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of dietary horsetail (Equisetum arvense) and spirulina (Spirulina platensis) supplementation on performance, egg quality, serum biochemical and antioxidant status of laying hens. A total of 648, 63-week-old Hy-Line W-36 layers were divided into nine groups with eight replicates per group (nine birds per replicate). A feeding trial was conducted under completely randomized design with factorial arrangement 3 × 3 consisting of three different dietary levels of horsetail supplementations (0, 0.25, and 0.50%, respectively) in combination with three levels of spirulina (0, 1, and 2%, respectively). Results showed that feed intake, egg production, egg weight and mass, and feed conversion ratio were not significantly affected by the dietary treatments. Eggshell thickness, strength, and yolk color were significantly improved in diets supplemented with 0.5% horsetail and 2% spirulina and their interactions. Egg yolk cholesterol was not significantly different among groups; however, a significant reduction was found when fed 2% spirulina. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentration decreased by supplementing 2% spirulina in diet; also, spirulina increased total superoxide dismutase (TSOD) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in laying hens. Overall, the findings indicated that the combination of horsetail and spirulina could have potential for improving the egg’s physical parameters, whereas spirulina was more effective in improving blood traits and oxidative status.

Short-Term Spirulina (Spirulina platensis) Supplementation and Laying Hen Strain Effects on Eggs’ Lipid Profile and Stability

“…Egg weight was not significantly affected by the dietary inclusion of 1% or 3% spirulina for 15 days of supplementation. Other investigations using doses of 1-2% for a longer period (12 weeks) did not find changes in this parameter [12]. Omri et al [7] reported that doses of 1.5% and at least 6 weeks were necessary for changes in egg weight to be observed.…”

“…These authors also found changes in color after 4-5 days of supplementation. Other authors [12] also found that the yolk color score improved from 1% doses, although these authors fed hens for a longer period of 12 weeks. Other research using a shorter period (6 weeks) [42] found that differences were not marked between 2 and 2.5% supplementation, with yolks having a pleasing color with 2% supplementation.…”

“…Spirulina's high nutrient content and beneficial effects on consumer health have made this alga one of the possible ingredients for trying to improve the nutritional quality of animal products. In poultry, some studies have reported its effectiveness in reducing egg cholesterol [5,12] or modifying other egg quality parameters such as shell thickness [7]. However, there is little to no information on spirulina's effects on the composition of micronutrients such as antioxidant vitamins, the specific fatty acid proportion or how spirulina supplementation may affect products' lipid stability.…”

Blood and Intestine Profile of Broilers Fed Averrhoa bilimbi Fruit, Wheat Bran, and Yeast Blends

“…Indeed, the prohibition of using AGP can implicate negative effects on broiler production and health (Sugiharto, 2016;Sugiharto & Ranjitkar, 2019). Various attempts have been conducted to find alternatives to AGP (Cimrin et al, 2020;Tufarelli et al, 2021). In this regard, herbal plants are being used as feed additives as part of the initiative to replace AGP for broiler chickens.…”

Blood biochemical parameters and organ development of brown layers fed reduced dietary protein levels in two rearing systems

“…Blood biochemical parameters had been used as metabolic variables to assess the welfare of poultry [ 12 ]. The behavior, blood corticosterone and blood biochemical parameters in laying hens change during the stress [ 13 , 14 ].…”