Efficiency of different levels of Satureja hortensis L. (Savory) in comparison with an antibiotic growth promoter on performance, carcass traits, immune responses and serum biochemical parameters in broiler chickens

This study was conducted to examine the effects of different levels of Satureja hortensis L. (Savory) in comparison with an antibiotic growth promoter (flavophospholipol) on performance, carcass characteristics, immune responses and serum biochemical parameters of broiler chicks. In this study, 240 one-day-old mixed sex broiler chicks (Ross 308) were weighed and randomly allocated to the 4 treatment groups, each with 4 replicates and with 15 broilers in each replicate. The dietary treatments consisted of the basal diet (control), antibiotic group receiving 4.5 mg/kg flavophospholipol, and 5 and 10 g/kg savory powder added to the basal diet. Performance parameters were measured in the growth periods. At day 42, two birds per replicate were slaughtered for the determination of carcass traits. Antibody titers against newcastle, influenza viruses and sheep red blood cell (SRBC) were determined. At day 42, biochemical parameters such as albumin, protein, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) of cholesterol were determined. The results show that supplementing 5 g/kg savory improved body weight of broilers at days 14, 28 and 42 but differences did not show statistical significance. Feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) index were not markedly affected by dietary treatments. Internal organ weights and carcass characteristics were not significantly influenced by the dietary treatments at day 42. The use of 5 g/kg savory powder led to the highest antibody titers against SRBC as compared to other groups (P<0.05). The serum biochemical parameters were not affected by dietary treatments. The results suggest that dietary inclusion of 5 g/kg savory can be applied as alternatives to in-feed antibiotics for broiler diets.Key words: Broiler, growth performance, immunity, Satureja hortensis L., biochemical parameters

Whole exome sequencing in 17 consanguineous Iranian pedigrees expands the mutational spectrum of inherited retinal dystrophies

Funding Information: We would like to thank all of the participating families. We are also grateful to the Swiss Confederation for the award of a PhD fellowship to AUR, to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences for supporting part of the work, in the framework of the PhD thesis of AS, to the Swiss National Science Foundation for grant # 176097 to CR, and to the Fondation Guillaume Gentil for support to ASF.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Performance of Holstein calves fed whole milk with or without kefir

A growing body of evidence suggests health-promoting effects of kefir consumption on different nonruminant species, leading to the speculation that kefir may act as a probiotic and benefit calf performance and health. Our objectives were to determine effects of feeding kefir on performance and health of calves in the first 70 d of life. Thirty 3-d-old female Holstein calves (body weight = 38.2 ± 3.1 kg) were blocked by initial body weight and assigned randomly to 1 of 3 treatments (1 calf per pen; 10 pens per treatment). Kefir was added to whole milk (vol/vol) at 0:1 (control; KF0), 1:3 (KF1), or 1:1 (KF2) and fed twice per day (0800 and 1600 h) from d 3 through 45 and then once per day until weaning, which occurred on d 50. Pre- and postweaning intake of starter, daily body weight gain, and gain-to-feed ratio exhibited no difference among treatments. Adding kefir to whole milk fed directly to calves had no effect on concentration of blood metabolites collected on d 20, 40, and 70. Body length on d 50 (weaning) and 70 was greater in kefir-fed calves. Kefir intake improved fecal scores and reduced days with diarrhea during the first 2 wk of life. Apparent digestibility of organic matter, ether extract, crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber remained unaffected by treatment. Overall, it appears that directly feeding kefir to calves during the preweaning period did not improve the performance of calves under the conditions of the current study; however, its consumption marginally improved body length and fecal consistency in the first weeks of life, which is an important concern in intensive calf-rearing systems. Feeding kefir to neonatal calves may be a viable approach to improve the health of calves in commercial calf-rearing operations, although to validate its health-promoting effects additional research is needed to investigate its effects under different calf-rearing conditions