The effect of the combined use of gammaoctalactone and chlortetracycline in the broiler diet: live weight, feed efficiency and the microbiome of the caecum

Abstract

Relevance, materials and methods. The experimental scheme included the control group — the main diet (MD); group I (positive control) — MD + chlortetracycline (20%) 0.63 g per 1 kg of body weight for 20 days; group II — MD + gamma-octalactone at a dosage of 0.1 ml/kg of b.w./day; III group — MD + gammaoctalactone + chlortetracycline (20%).Results. In the course of research, the advantage of the live weight of experimental broilers over the control was established. The broilers that received gamma-octolactone + chlortetracycline with the main dietwere distinguished by the greatest live weight (16.5% more than in the control) . A similar situation was observed in terms of live weight gains. Broilers of the experimental groups ate more feed (by 3.23–8.47%), against the background of low feed consumption per 1 kg of live weight (by 6.38–10.6%) compared to the control. Broilers from group III had a higher content of erythrocytes (by 12.6–30.7%) and the weight of the spleen. The microbial profile of group III broilers (a combination of gamma-octalactone and chlortetracycline) was represented by microorganisms belonging to 4 phylum. The dominant phylum was Firmicutes (81.3%). Comparison with the control showed that the combination of substances reduced the number of bacteria of this phylum by 4.46%, against the background of an increase in the number of representatives of the Bacteroidetes phylum by 9.32% relative to the control. There was an increase in representatives of the genera Alistipes, Lactobacillus and unclassified genera of the family Clostridiales, while the number of representatives of unclassified genera of the family Ruminococcaceae decreased.

Broiler Chicken Cecal Microbiome and Poultry Farming Productivity: A Meta-Analysis

“…Results of ten experimental series performed during the period of 2018-2023 [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] were included in the meta-analysis (Figure 1). The inclusion criteria were: (i) the study implementation to be in accordance with the ethical statement and the principles of good laboratory practice; (ii) use of broiler chickens aged from 7 to 42 days (experiment duration of 35 days); (iii) keeping birds on a standard basic diet supplemented with various additives; (iv) standard recording of zootechnical data integrated with the European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF); (v) standard Illumina 16S-RNA gene sequencing technology to characterize the cecal microbiome.…”

“…Seven-day-old broiler chickens were randomly divided into equal replicates and fed with the basic diets intended for the starting period (7-28 days), and growing period (29-42 days). The control group in each series received the basic diet only, while the experimental groups were fed a diet supplemented with Oak Bark extract [14,15,19], Bifidobacterium-containing or Bacillus-containing probiotic additives [15,16], the antibiotic chlortetracycline [14,20,21], or chemically synthesized analogues of the following plant-derived molecules: gamma-lactone, coumarin derivative, vanillin/vanylic acid, resorcinol derivative, or quercetin [16][17][18][20][21][22][23]. In the current context, these supplements affected the cecal microbiome composition and chicken productivity, providing variability in the data for the meta-analysis.…”

“…A total of 40 groups (8 control and 32 experimental) meeting these criteria were included in the study. Bark extract [14,15,19], Bifidobacterium-containing or Bacillus-containing probiotic additives [15,16], the antibiotic chlortetracycline [14,20,21], or chemically synthesized analogues of the following plant-derived molecules: gamma-lactone, coumarin derivative, vanillin/vanylic acid, resorcinol derivative, or quercetin [16][17][18][20][21][22][23]. In the current context, these supplements affected the cecal microbiome composition and chicken productivity, providing variability in the data for the meta-analysis.…”

“…Meta-analysis design to characterize the cecal microbiome of broiler chickens and its association with poultry production. Designations 1-10 indicate the experimental series described in [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…In a series of our previous studies published in international [14][15][16][17][18] and local [19][20][21][22][23] scientific journals, we used standard Illumina 16S-RNA gene sequencing technology in the context of the effects of different feeding regimes on the microbiome, feed efficiency, and growth performance indices in broiler chickens. General changes in cecal microbiome composition and zootechnical parameters were shown, but the relationship between cecal microbiota composition and diversity against poultry farming productivity was constrained by a small sample size in each series.…”