Enhanced modulation of gut microbial dynamics affecting body weight in birds triggered by natural growth promoters administered in conventional feed

Abstract

This study explored the effects of natural growth promoters (phytogenic feed additives and organic acids) on animal performance, carcass characteristics, blood parameters, gut microflora composition, and microbe–host interactions in broiler chickens over a 42-day feeding period. Two-hundred-fifty-day-old chicks were randomly assigned to one of five treatments: (i) control diets (CON); (ii) control diets + 40 g/tons antibiotic growth promoter (AB); (iii) control diets + 3 kg/tons organic acids (ORG); (iv) control diets + 3 kg/tons phytogenic feed additives (PHY); (v) control diets + 3 kg/tons organic acids + phytogenic feed additive combination (COM). A non-significant differences ( p > 0.05 ) were observed in broiler performance among treatments at 21 days of age; however, a gradually increasing body weight gain and reduced feed conversion ratio were observed at 42 days in treatments versus control group. Biochemical indices were non-significant ( p > 0.05 ) except for decreased cholesterol ( p < 0.05 ) and increased A/G ratio ( p < 0.05 ) recorded in the treatment groups. The addition of PHY and ORG improved total counts of Enterococcus spp. and Lactobacillus spp. ( p < 0.05 ) as well as reduced caecal and ileal Campylobacter spp. and Escherichia coli ( p < 0.05 ). Correlation analysis elucidated beneficial bacteria ( Enterococcus spp. and Lactobacillus spp.) were positively and pathogenic bacteria ( Campylobacter spp. and E. coli ) were negatively correlated ( p < 0.05 ) with host weight gain. The findings indicated that dietary supplementation of PHY and ORG sustained balanced gut microflora, which in turn improved body weight. This study broadens the significance of using PHY and ORG as safe alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters for achieving healthier and economical broiler production.

Cinnamon: A Natural Feed Additive for Poultry Health and Production—A Review

“…Many studies have been conducted to illustrate the effect of cinnamon on blood biochemical profile, including antioxidant activity, lipid profile and immunity. The cinnamon-based PFAs group exhibited significant differences in albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio and cholesterol concentrations as compared to control treatments [1]. Additionally, non-significant interactions were found for total protein, globulin levels and serum albumin among treatments.…”

“…The global production of chicken meat reached about 137 million tons in 2020, making poultry the most consumed meat in the world. Therefore, the poultry industry contributes significantly to animal protein consumption and to human nutrition and global food security [1]. In recent years, significant improvements have been made to improve poultry health and performance.…”

“…PFAs have emerged as alternatives to AGPs and have great potential in the poultry industry [3]. For example, under conditions of heat stress in poultry they have been shown to improve the immune system, exert positive effects on health performance, and reduce stress response [1,4,5].…”

Comparative Efficacy of Selected Phytobiotics with Halquinol and Tetracycline on Gut Morphology, Ileal Digestibility, Cecal Microbiota Composition and Growth Performance in Broiler Chickens

“…In this scenario, it is essential to find viable and potential alternatives for sustainable poultry production. Thus, extensive research is now focused on searching the alternative to AGPs with similar antimicrobial and growth-enhancing potential in broiler chickens [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Phytochemical composition of Capsicum frutescens and its effect on body weight and carcass yield of Cobb500 broilers

“…This ability to improve growth may be attributed to the presence of phytochemicals such as flavonoids, phenols, saponins and alkaloids that are known to perform multiple biological functions including favoring growth of beneficial bacteria (Enterococcus spp, Lactobacillus spp.) that are positively correlated with weight gain (Oluwafemi et al, 2020;Rashid et al, 2020). Moreover, the ability of C. frutescens powder to improve growth at 2.2% inclusion level makes it comparable to other phytogenic feed additives that have achieved similar effects such as tannins from Quebracho (Marzoni et al, 2020) and coriander (Abou-Elkhair et al, 2014), Further, positive effects on growth have also been reported for several phytogenic feed additives when included at lower levels such as 0.2, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75%, for chicory, Myristica fragrans, turmeric and red pepper extract respectively (Khoobani et al, 2020;Adu et al, 2020;Abou-Elkhair et al, 2014;Islam et al, 2018).…”