Use of β-Glucanases and β-1,4-Xylanases to Supplement Diets Containing Alfalfa and Rye for Laying Hens: Effects on Bird Performance and Egg Quality

Fast-growing chickens fed with lucerne protein-xanthophyll concentrate: growth performance, slaughter yield and bone quality

“…Administration of lucerne in combination with ryegrass in the diet for laying hens reduced weight gain and feed intake (Mourão et al, 2006). As shown by Dong et al (2007), addition of lucerne extract (Polysavon) reduced the accumulation of abdominal fat but exerted no effect on chicken performance.…”

The effect of chopped, extruded and pelleted alfalfa silage on the egg quality of organic laying hens

“…A comparison of the cholesterol level of yolks from group A (12.4 mg/g) with the level of cholesterol in yolks produced on a diet without alfalfa (13.1 mg/g) (Laudadio et al (2014)) shows that the inclusion of alfalfa meal at a rate of 5 % in the diet of the laying hens in group A resulted in a reduction of the cholesterol level by 6 % . In research conducted by Mourao et al (2006), it was determined that alfalfa meal (15 %) had no effect on the cholesterol in egg yolks from laying hens. After the calculation of the fat intake (according the published data) of the groups studied, it was shown that the birds fed with alfalfa consumed 12 % more fat than the control group.…”

Role of a family 11 carbohydrate-binding module in the function of a recombinant cellulase used to supplement a barley-based diet for broiler chickens

“…Initially, qualitative analysis of cellulase activity in the digesta samples recovered from the various GI compartments was assessed in agar plates, using barley -glucan (Megazyme Õ , Ireland) at 0Á1% (w/v) final concentration, in 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7Á0. Catalytic activity was detected after 16 h incubation at 37 C with the Congo Red assay plate (Ponte et al, 2004;Mourão et al, 2006). Zymogram analysis was performed as described by Fontes et al (2004).…”