Effects of exogenous tannase enzyme on growth performance, antioxidant status, immune response, gut morphology and intestinal microflora of chicks fed grape pomace

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary addition of tannase to feed of chicks including grape pomace (GP) on growth performance, antioxidant status, immune response, blood parameters, gut morphology, intestinal microflora, liver function, and histopathological responses. The experimental diets were i) control (corn and soybean diet) (C); ii) C+10%GP; iii) C+10%GP+T1 (500 mg/kg tannase enzyme); and iv) C+10% GP+T2 (1000 mg/kg tannase enzyme). At 10 days old, the bodyweight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) of the birds fed the diet supplemented with GP was lower compared with the control group. In contrast with the control, supplementation of diets with 10%GP+1000 mg/kg tannase elevated superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and depressed the malondialdehyde (MDA) level in serum. The addition of GP to the chicken diets had a significant impact on the total anti- sheep red blood cells (SRBC) titers and IgG, and IgM antibodies at 21 and 42 days old. The muscularis thickness of the chicken duodenum decreased in the Trial 3 compared with control groups. The inclusion of GP in the chicken diets reduced the concentration of Escherichia coli and increased that of Lactobacillus compared with the control. The results of the present study suggest that the inclusion of up to 10 percent GP in diets did not adversely affect broiler growth performance, and supplementation of tannase improved the antioxidant status and immune responses,and increased the caecal populations of beneficial bacteria in the cecum of broiler chickens.Keywords: Broiler chickens, histopathological responses, glutathione peroxidase, polyphenol, sheep red blood cell

Effects of grape pomace and vitamin E on performance, antioxidant status, immune response, gut morphology and histopathological responses in broiler chickens

We investigated the effects of grape pomace (GP) and vitamin E on the performance, antioxidant status, immune response, gut morphology and histopathological responses in broiler chickens. Two hundred and fifty male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were allocated to five dietary treatments (50 birds/treatment) in a completely randomized design. The experimental diets were as follows: i) Control corn-soybean meal diet (C); ii) C + Vitamin E (200 mg/kg of α-tocopherol acetate); iii) The diet containing 5%GP; iv) The diet containing 7.5% GP; v) The diet containing 10% GP. No differences were found in performance of the experimental birds. Birds fed 7.5% GP showed a significant increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidise (GSH-Px) activity and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration. Antibody titer against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) at 42 days (d) of age in the control and 7.5% GP fed groups were lower than others. The primary IgM concentration of birds fed 10% GP was higher than the birds fed the control diet, the vitamin E supplemented diet or the diet containing 5% GP. The secondary titer against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was increased significantly in the birds fed 10% GP and the secondary IgG concentration of birds fed 10% GP was higher than the birds fed the control diet and the diets containing 5% or 7.5% GP. In duodenum part of small intestine, villus height/crypt depth ratio and muscularis thickness were decreased. The results of the present study suggest that the inclusion of up to 10% GP in diets did not adversely affect broiler chickens’ performance and improved the antioxidant and immune responses of broiler chickens.Keywords: Glutathione peroxidise, polyphenol, poultry, red blood cells α-tocopherol acetate, sheep, superoxide dismutas

Effects of Thymus vulgaris and Mentha pulegium on colour, nutrients and peroxidation of meat in heat-stressed broilers

This study was designed to investigate the effects of Thymus vulgaris (thyme) and Mentha pulegium (mentha) powders on meat colour, nutrient composition and malondialdehyde (MDA) where broiler chickens were under heat stress. Two hundred one-day-old male chicks were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments and five replicates each (10 birds per replication). Treatments were the control diet, 0.5% mentha, 0.5% thyme and 0.5% mixture of the two plants. The results showed no effect of dietary supplements on thigh meat redness and yellowness. Both plant products diminished the thigh lightness significantly compared with the control. No significant differences between treatments were observed for the ash, ether extract and crude protein content of the thigh muscle. Supplementation of thyme and mentha separately or together increased the moisture of the thigh muscle significantly, compared with the control. The combination of the plant products resulted in a higher thigh pH and significantly lower malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in the thigh muscle compared with the control. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of thyme and mentha separately or in combination improved the meat quality of broiler chickens under heat stress through decreasing the MDA concentration and increasing the pH and moisture content of the thigh muscl

EIU's ViewsWire: New Wine in a New Bottle

On May 1, 1998, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) launched its new Web-based information service, ViewsWire. ViewsWire was an attempt to take advantage of the Internet by combining the resources of the Economist Group’s information services and publishing skills with cutting-edge search-and-retrieval technology and a proprietary database system. By linking related stories, articles, and briefings together, the aim was to allow ViewsWire users to create their own “personalized decision-support profiles.

Short communication. Dietary supplementation effects of zinc acetate and magnesium sulfate on performance and antioxidant status of broilers under continuous heat stress

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different dietary levels of zinc acetate (Zn; 0, 30 and 60 mg kg�1) and of magnesium sulphate (Mg; 0, 300 and 600 mg kg�1) on performance and blood antioxidant status of broilers under continuous heat stress. For this purpose, four hundred and fifty one-day-old male chicks were used in a 3 × 3 factorial experiment from day 1 to day 42 of age. The inclusion of 30 mg Zn kg�1 increased the body weight gain and the average feed intake and declined the feed conversion ratio (FCR). Although there were no differences between the treatments for FCR, the supplementation with 30 and 60 mg Zn kg�1 decreased the FCR regardless the Mg level. The dietary supplementation with 30 mg Zn kg�1 decreased both blood glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities regardless the Mg level. In addition, neither Zn nor Mg influenced the blood total antioxidant capacity content at the end of the experiment. Blood malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased as dietary Zn supplementation increased. The MDA reduction when diet was supplemented with Zn was not obvious at higher Mg level (interaction Zn × Mg, p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary addition of Mg does not significantly influence either the performance or the antioxidant status of broiler at 42 d of age under heat stress but supplementation of 30 mg Zn kg�1 decrease the blood MDA concentration and improves the performance

Short communication. Dietary supplementation effects of zinc acetate and magnesium sulfate on performance and antioxidant status of broilers under continuous heat stress

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different dietary levels of zinc acetate (Zn; 0, 30 and 60 mg kg-1) and of magnesium sulphate (Mg; 0, 300 and 600 mg kg-1) on performance and blood antioxidant status of broilers under continuous heat stress. For this purpose, four hundred and fifty one-day-old male chicks were used in a 3 × 3 factorial experiment from day 1 to day 42 of age. The inclusion of 30 mg Zn kg-1 increased the body weight gain and the average feed intake and declined the feed conversion ratio (FCR). Although there were no differences between the treatments for FCR, the supplementation with 30 and 60 mg Zn kg-1 decreased the FCR regardless the Mg level. The dietary supplementation with 30 mg Zn kg-1 decreased both blood glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities regardless the Mg level. In addition, neither Zn nor Mg influenced the blood total antioxidant capacity content at the end of the experiment. Blood malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased as dietary Zn supplementation increased. The MDA reduction when diet was supplemented with Zn was not obvious at higher Mg level (interaction Zn × Mg, p&lt;0.05). In conclusion, dietary addition of Mg does not significantly influence either the performance or the antioxidant status of broiler at 42 d of age under heat stress but supplementation of 30 mg Zn kg-1 decrease the blood MDA concentration and improves the performance