Effects of supplementation of multi-enzyme and multi-species probiotic on production performance, egg quality, cholesterol level and immune system in laying hens

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate enzyme and probiotic feed supplements as alternative feed additives to alleviate the problems associated with the withdrawal of antibiotics from layer diet. A total of 180 Hy-Line W-98 hens, 40 weeks old, were assigned into four treatment groups so that there were 45 laying hens in each group. Four dietary treatments were randomly assigned to the four groups of hens. Hens in Group 1 were fed basal diet only (negative control), Group 2 was fed basal diet ' antibiotic at a level of 2.0 g/kg (positive control), Group 3 was fed basal diet ' multi-enzyme at a level of 2.0 g/kg (ES) and Group 4 was fed basal diet ' multi-species probiotic at a level of 0.5 g/kg (PS). The results showed that addition of either enzyme or probiotic supplementation to the basal diet significantly increased the egg production, egg weight and egg mass of hens than the negative control group. There was no significant difference in feed intake among treatments, although the feed conversion improved with the addition of antibiotic, enzyme and probiotic than the negative control. Over the 70-day trial period, weight gain was higher than the negative control for birds fed the diet containing probiotic. There was no significant effect on mortality during the study. Haugh unit score was significantly increased in the groups fed the ES and PS diets when compared with negative control group. Egg shape index, specific gravity, yolk index, shell weight, shell thickness and damaged eggs did not differ significantly among the laying hens of all dietary groups. High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol was significantly increased by probiotic supplementation compared with other dietary groups. Dietary treatments did not influence eosinophils and monocytes, increased lymphocyte and decreased heterophil and H:L ratio. The geometric means haemagglutination inhibition titres of birds fed on diets containing antibiotic, enzyme and probiotic supplementation were higher from 28 to 70 days than that of negative control. It may be concluded that the supplementation of enzyme and probiotic in layer diets did not appear to cause any adverse effects on egg production, egg quality and immunity compared with the negative control laying hens and non-antibiotic feed additives can be used as alternative. Moreover, the dietary supplementation of probiotic may lead to the development of low-cholesterol chicken eggs as demanded by health-conscious consumers.

Black cumin seeds as phytogenic product in broiler diets and its effects on performance, blood constituents, immunity and caecal microbial population

“…To this day, though, they have been banned and thus removed from diets in many countries. As this may negatively affect the profitability of the poultry, feed industry will have to search for alternatives to the them (Khan et al, 2011). Possible alternatives to antibiotics may be represented by plant products.…”

Chemical Compositions of Egg Yolks and Egg Quality of Laying Hens Fed Prebiotic, Probiotic, and Synbiotic Diets

“…Probiotics are live microorganisms that confer health benefits to the host, when administered in adequate amounts, by improving the host's intestinal microbial balance (FAO/WHO ). The addition of probiotics to the diets of laying hens has been found to improve egg quality parameters including egg shell thickness (Panda and others ; Abdelqader and others ), egg specific gravity, and albumen quality (Haugh unit) (Khan and others ). Probiotic supplementation may also alter the lipid metabolism of chickens as several studies have indicated that probiotics could reduce the cholesterol content of egg yolks (Kurtoglu and others ; Kalavathy and others ; Mikulski and others ), sera (Kurtoglu and others ), and carcasses (Kalavathy and others ) of laying hens and broiler chickens.…”

Chemical features, cholesterol and energy content of table hen eggs from conventional and alternative farming systems

“…Cholesterol concentration in eggs could be significantly reduced through diet supplementation with fish oil and flaxseed (Basmacioğlu et al, 2003). Certain feed additives showed promise, such as beta-cyclodextrin (Sparks, 2006), inulin (Shang et al, 2010), 0.5% multispecies probiotics (Khan et al, 2011), antioxidant, vitamins E or C (Mohiti-Asli & Zaghari, 2010, combinations of garlic and black tea (2%) (Azeke & Ekpo, 2009), 0.5% ginger root powder (Akbarian et al, 2011), up to 3.0% Nigella sativa (Islam et al, 2011) and pumpkin seeds (Celik et al, 2011). No effects on the total cholesterol content of eggs occurred when layer diets were supplemented with aromatic herb oils (thyme, sage or rosemary) (Bolukbasi et al, 2008), dried purslane (Aydin & Dogan, 2010), garlic juice (Mahmoud et al, 2010) and plant sterols (Liu et al, 2010).…”