Effect of different levels of sunflower meal and multi-enzyme complex on performance, biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of laying hens

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of different sunflower meal (Helianthus annus; SFM) levels and a multi-enzyme complex (Natuzyme P50) on performance, biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of laying hens. A total of 288 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens (39-wk-old) were divided into six groups with six replicates per group (eight birds per replicate) and fed one of the six experimental diets. A corn-soybean meal-based diet was formulated and used as control diet. The experimental treatments consisted of three levels of SFM (0, 10, and 20%) and two levels of multi-enzyme complex (0 and 250g/ton). The feeding trial lasted 10 weeks. The results showed that the egg production, egg weight and mass, egg specific gravity, shell strength and thickness, Haugh unit, shape index, triglyceride content, plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSH) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) were not influenced by dietary treatments; however, the feed consumption, yolk cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were significantly affected by feeding SFM compared to the control. In conclusion, the supplementation of SFM up to 20% in diet with multi-enzyme complex in laying hens did not appear to cause any adverse effects on egg production and quality as well on antioxidant status in laying hens.Keywords: Enzymes, laying hen, performance, sunflower meal, yolk cholestero

Effects of Cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum) and Turmeric (Curcuma ‎Longa) Powder on Performance, Enzyme Activity, and Blood Parameters of Broiler Chickens Under Heat Stress

The effect of cinnamon and turmeric powders on performance, and blood parameters of broiler chickens under heat stress were investigated. 200 one-day-old male chicks (Ross 308) were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments and five replicates with 10 birds in each replicate. All birds were treated with heat stress (32οC) and were either fed no any supplement (control), or 0.5% turmeric, 0.5% cinnamon, and a blend of cinnamon and turmeric (0.25% each) when they were 25 to 42 days of age. We found that supplementation of turmeric, cinnamon, and their combination increased feed intake and body weight gain compared to control birds (P < 0.05). Blood uric acid concentration and lactate dehydrogenase activities decreased in the supplemented diets ‎ (P < 0.05). Blood malondialdehyde also decreased in all diets, but had the most striking reduction in the diets containing both turmeric and cinnamon (P < 0.05)‎. Blood aspartate aminotransferase, urea, and creatinine were not affected by the dietary treatments. Similarly, blood sodium, potassium, chlorine, hematocrit and rectal temperature were unchanged by the supplements (P > 0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation of cinnamon and turmeric either alone or together improve the performance of broiler chickens under heat stress by reducing lipid peroxidation

Effect of dietary sesame (Sesame indicum L) seed meal level supplemented with lysine and phytase on performance traits and antioxidant status of late-phase laying hens

Objective: This study was performed to investigate the effects of supplementing sesame seed meal (SSM) with phytase and lysine on performance, egg quality, blood biochemical and antioxidant status of laying hens. Methods: A total of 960, 56-wk-old laying hens were divided into 12 dietary groups with eight replicates per group (10 birds per replicate). A completely randomized design with factorial arrangement 2×3×2 consisted of two levels of lysine supplement (0% and 10% over requirement), three SSM levels (0%, 10%, and 20%) with or without phytase (0 and 300 g/ton). The feeding trial lasted 10 weeks. Results: Birds fed diets with 10% SSM had higher feed intake than groups fed 0% and 20% SSM. The addition of phytase to experimental feeds, improved feed conversion ratio, increased egg weight and mass (p&lt;0.01). Egg quality criteria was not affected by supplementing phytase; however, supplementing 300 g/ton phytase to hens diet, led to a significant (p&lt;0.05) increase in egg shell strength. Egg yolk cholesterol and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, atherogenic index and total cholesterol were decreased (p&lt;0.01) by diet containing 20% SSM. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was increased (p&lt;0.05) in serum of hens fed 20% SSM than the other groups. It was also observed that total antioxidant capacity and total superoxide dismutase content of hens fed 20% SSM was significantly higher than control group (p&lt;0.05). Conclusion: As from results, dietary supplementation of SSM and phytase had no negative effects on laying hens performance or egg quality while improving the egg oxidative stability

Effect of different levels of sunflower meal and multi-enzyme complex on performance, biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of laying hens

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of different sunflower meal (Helianthus annus; SFM) levels and a multi-enzyme complex (Natuzyme P50) on performance, biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of laying hens. A total of 288 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens (39-wk-old) were divided into six groups with six replicates per group (eight birds per replicate) and fed one of the six experimental diets. A corn-soybean meal-based diet was formulated and used as control diet. The experimental treatments consisted of three levels of SFM (0, 10, and 20%) and two levels of multi-enzyme complex (0 and 250g/ton). The feeding trial lasted 10 weeks. The results showed that the egg production, egg weight and mass, egg specific gravity, shell strength and thickness, Haugh unit, shape index, triglyceride content, plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSH) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) were not influenced by dietary treatments; however, the feed consumption, yolk cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were significantly affected by feeding SFM compared to the control. In conclusion, the supplementation of SFM up to 20% in diet with multi-enzyme complex in laying hens did not appear to cause any adverse effects on egg production and quality as well on antioxidant status in laying hens

Effects of horsetail (Equisetum arvense) and spirulina (spirulina platensis) dietary supplementation on laying hens productivity and oxidative status

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

Effect of dietary flaxseed meal supplemented with dried tomato and grape pomace on performance traits and antioxidant status of laying hens

This study was carried out to determine the effect of dietary flaxseed meal (FSM) supplemented with dried tomato pomace (DTP) and dried grape pomace (DGP) on performance, egg quality, biochemical parameters traits and antioxidant status of laying hens. Birds (1825 ± 87 g of body weight) were divided into 12 dietary groups with six replicates per group (eight birds per replicate), under a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement 2 × 3 × 2 consisted of two levels of DTP (0 and 15%), three FSM levels (0, 4 and 8%) and two levels of DGP (0 and 5%). As a result of this study, there were no significant differences in egg production and weight as well in feed conversion ratio (FCR) among treatments (p &gt; 0.05). Feeding of DGP reduced significantly feed intake and egg mass when compared to control group (p &lt; 0.05). There was no effect (p &gt; 0.05) of dietary treatment on shell thickness and strength, shape index, Haugh unit and egg specific gravity. Hens consuming 15% DTP and 5% DGP revealed a significantly higher yolk color compared to the other dietary treatments (p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, there was no difference among dietary treatments in terms of serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) cholesterol, atherogenic index, triglycerides, total cholesterol levels (p &gt; 0.05). Serum antioxidant parameters as glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA), total superoxide dismutase (TSOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were not influenced by treatments (p &gt; 0.05). Based on findings, FSM and DTP supplements did not significantly impact most of hens’ performance indicators and egg quality parameters, whereas significant improvements were observed by feeding of 15% DTP and 5% DGP on egg traits, in particular on egg-yolk color that plays a key-role in consumer’s choice. However, the supplementation of FSM and DTP or DGP even in laying hen diet is still controversial and further research is needed

Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum), Marine Algae (Spirulina platensis) and Toxin Binder Powders in the Diets of Broiler Chickens Exposed to Aflatoxin-B1: Growth Performance, Humoral Immune Response and Cecal Microbiota

This research was performed to investigate the effects of milk thistle (MT), toxin binder (TB) and marine algae (Spirulina platensis; SP) on the performance, blood indices, humoral immunity and cecal microbiota of broiler chickens exposed to aflatoxin-B1 (AFB1). A total of 300 one-day-old male chicks were equally divided into five treatments, with six replicates with 10 birds per treatment. Dietary treatments included: (T1) a control diet (without any feed additive or AFB1); (T2) control diet + 0.6 mg AFB1/kg; (T3) T2 + 10 g/kg MT; (T4) T2 + 1 g/kg TB; and (T5) T2 + 10 g/kg SP. BWG and FI were found to be considerably reduced in broilers given AFB1-contaminated diets (p &lt; 0.05). The FCR was negatively influenced in birds fed AFB1-contaminated diets (p &lt; 0.05). MT, TB, and SP powders also reduced the deleterious effects of AFB1 on the growth of chickens (p &lt; 0.05). In comparison with the control birds and the other treatments, broilers given AFB1-contaminated diets had a higher relative weight of abdominal fat (p &lt; 0.05). The feeding of AFB1 resulted in a substantial rise in AST and ALT activity (p &lt; 0.05). MT, TB, and SP powders significantly decreased blood AST and ALT activity in broilers (p &lt; 0.05). The AFB1 and MT groups had the lowest skin thickness (p &lt; 0.05) twenty-four hours after injection. The phytohemagglutinin injection results showed that the TB and SP were more efficient than the other additives in removing toxins from the feed sources (p &lt; 0.05). The antibody titer against sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) was lower in the AFB1 group compared to the control group at 28 days of age (p &lt; 0.05). When comparing AFB1-fed chicks to the control treatment, there was a significant (p &lt; 0.05) concentration of cecal Coliform bacteria. When MT, TB, and SP powders were added to AFB1-contaminated diet, cecal Coliforms were decreased (p &lt; 0.05). When fed AFB1-contaminated diets, it can be concluded that MT, TB, and SP are suitable for supporting growth performance, immunological function, and the serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens