Effect of feeding different oils on plasma corticosterone in broiler chickens

A study was conducted to examine the effects of different oils on the plasma corticosterone concentrations of broiler chickens fed ad libitum or deprived of feed for 24 hours. A total of 36 Ross broilers were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments at 10 days of age and fed a grower diet supplemented with 60 g/kg soybean oil (rich in linoleic acid, C18:2n–6), linseed oil (rich in a-linolenic acid, C18:3n–3) or fish oil (rich in C14:0, C16:0, C16:1n–7, C20:1n–9; eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, EPA, C20:5n–3 and DHA, C22:6n–3), respectively, for 18 days. Dietary supplementation of fish oil resulted in lower (P < 0.05) baseline plasma corticosterone levels of chickens fed ad libitum for 18 days compared to soybean and linseed oil supplementations. Feed deprivation for 24 h induced a significant (P < 0.05) increase in corticosterone concentration in every treatment group compared to the ad libitum-fed birds. The hormone levels of feed-deprived birds did not differ significantly among groups fed diets supplemented with different oils

Búzakorpa, valamint két egytényezős probiotikum etetése nem befolyásolta a termelési paramétereket, azonban megváltoztatta a bél egyes paramétereit brojlercsirkék esetében

The effects of a single strain lactic acid producing bacteria (LAB) (Lactobacillus farciminis 5x109 CFU/kg) and a single strain butyric acid producing bacteria (BAB) (Clostridium butyricum 2.5x109 CFU/kg) with or without wheat bran supplementation (WB), were investigated on the production traits and on several gut characteristics of broiler chickens. In total, 576 male Ross 308 day-old chickens were divided into 24 floor pens and fed a corn-soybean based control diet (C) and five other probiotic or wheat bran supplemented diets (LAB, BAB, LAB+WB, BAB+WB, C+WB) in 4 replicates. The wheat bran content of the starter, grower and finisher diets were 3, 6 and 6%, respectively. During the 37 day long fattening period, growth rate, feed intake were recorded and feed conversion was calculated. At the end of the trial, 8 chickens per treatment were slaughtered and the following parameters investigated: trypsin, lipase and amylase activity of the jejunal chyme, ileal histomorphology and Lactobacillus load. None of the treatments resulted significant differences in the production traits (P>0.1). BAB supplementation tended to decrease digestive enzyme activity. Feeding WB in all combination increased crypt depth (P=0.002), ileal muscle layer thickness (P=0.001) and decreased the villi: crypt ratio (P=0.037) in the ileum.Kutatásunk során egy tejsavtermelő (LAB) (Lactobacillus farciminis 5x109 CFU/kg) és egy vajsavtermelő baktériumtörzset tartalmazó (BAB) (Clostridium butyricum 2.5x109 CFU/kg) probiotikum készítmény hatását vizsgáltunk önmagában, valamint búzakorpa kiegészítéssel (WB) a termelési paraméterekre és a bél néhány morfológiai tulajdonságára baromfi esetében. Ennek során 576 Ross 308 típusú napos kakast osztottunk hat kezelési csoportra, 4 ismétlésben, csoportonként 24 állatot beállítva, kukorica alapú tápot alkalmazva (C, LAB, BAB, LAB+WB, BAB+WB, C+WB). Az indító, nevelő és befejező táp búzakorpa tartalma 3, 6 and 6% volt. A 37 napos nevelés alatt mértük a csirkék testtömeg-gyarapodását, takarmányfogyasztását és kiszámításra került a takarmányértékesítés. A hízlalást követően kezelésenként 8 állat került levágásra, majd az alábbi paraméterek vizsgálatára került sor: tripszin, lipáz és amiláz aktivitás a jejunumból, ileális hisztomorfológiai paramáterek és ileális Lactobacillus szám. Egyik kezelés sem eredményezett szignifikáns különbségeket a termelési paraméterekben (P>0.1). A BAB kezelés tendenciálisan csökkentette az emésztőenzim aktivitást. A búzakorpa kiegészítés hatására minden kombinációban nőtt az ileális kriptamélység (P=0.002), az izomvastagság (P=0.001) és csökkent a boholy-kripta arány (P=0.037)

Effects of butyrate on the insulin homeostasis of chickens kept on maize- or wheat-based diets

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of butyrate as a feed supplement on the expression of insulin signalling proteins as potent regulators of metabolism and growth in Ross 308 broiler chickens fed maize- or wheat-based diets. Both diets were supplemented with non-protected butyrate (1.5 and 3.0 g/kg of diet, respectively) or with protected butyrate (0.2 g/kg of diet); the diet of the control groups was prepared without any additives (control). On day 42 of life, systemic blood samples were drawn for analyses of glucose and insulin concentrations, and tissue samples (liver, gastrocnemius muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue) were taken for Western blotting examinations. The expression of key insulin signalling proteins (IRβ, PKCζ and mTOR) was assessed by semiquantitative Western blotting from the tissues mentioned. The type of diet had a remarkable influence on the insulin homeostasis of chickens. The wheat-based diet significantly increased IRβ and mTOR expression in the liver as well as mTOR and PKCζ expression in the adipose tissue when compared to animals kept on a maize-based diet. IRβ expression in the liver was stimulated by the lower dose of non-protected butyrate as well, suggesting the potential of butyrate as a feed additive to affect insulin sensitivity. Based on the results obtained, the present study shows new aspects of nutritional factors by comparing the special effects of butyrate as a feed additive and those of the cereal type, presumably in association with dietary non-starch polysaccharide- (NSP-) driven enteric shortchain fatty acid release including butyrate, influencing insulin homeostasis in chickens. As the tissues of chickens have physiologically lower insulin sensitivity compared to mammals, diet-associated induction of the insulin signalling pathway can be of special importance in improving growth and metabolic health

Evaluation the nutrient composition of extracted sunflower meal samples, determined with wet chemistry and near infrared spectroscopy

Twenty extracted sunflower meal (SFM) samples were collected and analysed with classical laboratory methods and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). From the results, the variance of the nutrients, the accuracy of NIRS prediction and the interaction of the different nutrients have been evaluated. The results showed that NIRS provides high accuracy for crude protein, amino acids, fibre fractions and total phosphorus. The reliability for crude fat, crude ash and sugar predictions was however lower. The relationship between the measured and estimated amino acid contents was significant in all cases with high correlation coefficients. The crude protein content of the SFM samples showed a positive correlation with the crude ash, phosphorous and sugar contents, and a negative correlation with all fibre fractions. According to our results, the amino acid composition of the sunflower meal protein is not constant. The ratio of methionine and histidine HIS is higher, while that of cysteine, tyrosine, arginine, isoleucine, leucine, valine and phenylalanine is lower when the protein content of SFM increase

Feeding sunflower meal with pullets and laying hens even at a 30% inclusion rate does not impair the ileal digestibility of most amino acids

The use of locally available protein sources in poultry nutrition is challenging for feed manufacturers and farmers. Sunflower meal (SFM) is available in high quantities in several European countries and could be used as a poultry feedstuff at higher inclusion rates. However, its maximum inclusion rate in the diets of different poultry species and age categories is unknown. Pullets and laying hens can probably tolerate higher amounts of SFM, but only limited information is available on these poultry groups. Therefore, a digestibility trial was carried out with 8-week-old layer type pullets and 50-week-old laying hens. Beside a basal diet, SFM was fed at 10, 20 and 30% inclusion rates. Feeding SFM significantly improved the digestibility of essential amino acids (AA) of threonine, valine, lysine, tyrosine, glycine, aspartic acid, and arginine in the pullet diets. No such improvement was found in laying hens. Only the absorption of the two branch-chain AAs, leucin (pullets) and isoleucine (hens), declined due to SFM. The AA digestibility of the SFM itself was also calculated by linear regression. The coefficients were, in all cases, higher in hens than in pullets. Comparing the measured digestibility coefficients of SFM with table values, it can be concluded that high variance exists because of the differences in the methodology and the test animals in the digestibility trials. From the present trial, it can be concluded that SFM can entirely replace extracted soybean meal in pullet and layer diets, without negative effects on the protein digestion of birds

A vastagbél szerepének áttekintése különböző gazdasági állatoknál

A gasztrointesztinális traktus (GIT) a test és a külső környezet közötti interfészként szolgál. Egy rendkívül speciális szervrendszer, amelynek legfontosabb feladata a szervezet tápanyagigényének kielégítése az emésztésen keresztül. A bélmikroflórát a szervezetre gyakorolt ismert hatása miatt az "elfelejtett szervnek" is nevezik. Valószínűleg a leginkább tanulmányozott szimbiotikus rendszer. A hosszú távú kölcsönhatások révén a gazdaszervezet és a mikroorganizmusok között egymástól való függés jött létre. Jelentősége gazdasági állataink esetében is nagy. A bélben lévő mikroflóra ökoszisztéma jellemzői befolyásolhatják a bél lumenének morfológiáját, metabolikusan módosíthatják a lumenben lévő exogén és endogén tápanyagokat, az immunrendszer működését, aktív szerepet játszhatnak a patogén kontrollban, és befolyásolhatják az állat takarmány igényeit. Ha egy állat mikroflóra ökoszisztémája instabil, a tápanyag forgalom veszélybe kerül. A tanulmány elsődleges célja a vastagbél, valamint a mikroflóra jelentőségének bemutatása

A tojásbakterióta és a csirke bélbakteriótájának kapcsolata az újgenerációs szekvenálási eljárások fényében : Irodalmi összefoglaló = Relationship Between the Egg Bacteriota and the Chicken Gut Bacteriota in the Light of New Generation Sequencing (NGS) Methods : Literature Review

A szerzők irodalmi adatok alapján ismertetik az elmúlt évtizedben, leginkább az újgenerációs szekvenálási eljárások elterjedése miatt bekövetkezett hatalmas fejlődést a tojásbakterióta, valamint a brojlercsirkék bélcsatornájában élő bakterióta megismerésében. A bakteriális közösségek pontosabb taxonómiai leírása mellett lehetővé vált az is, hogy nyomon követhessük változásaikat és megismerjük a változásokat meghatározó tényezőket. A brojlercsirkék esetében a tojásra vagy tojásba kerülő baktériumok terjedési útjainak kísérleti vizsgálata során, az ismert horizontális útvonalak mellett a vertikális, tojótyúkból a csibére terjedést is sikerült jobban jellemezni. Az újabb tudományos ismeretek lehetővé teszik a tojásokon vagy a naposcsibéken alkalmazott probiotikumok hatékonyabb használatát is. In the last decade, due to the new generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, there has been a huge improvement in the investigation of the external and internal bacteriota of eggs. At the same time, serious progress was made in the understanding of the composition of the bacterial community living in the intestinal tract of the chicken and its role in the life of the host animal. At higher taxonomic levels (phylum, class), the typical bacterial communities of the egg and the different parts of the intestinal tract is already well known. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria are the most dominant phyla in both the egg and in the gut. At lower taxonomic levels (genus, species), the observed differences between the bacterial communities can be better explained. We have more detailed knowledge about the bacterial interactions between laying hens and chicks, as well as the spreading routes of prokaryotic microorganisms. During the experimental investigations of the spread and transmission routes of prokaryotic microorganisms, in addition to the known horizontal routes (from the environment, feed, drinking water), the vertical transmission (from laying hen to egg) was also better characterized. The bacteria of the reproductive organs of the hen gave new results about the potential vertical transmission routes of bacteriota. The more thorough scientific knowledge about the different bacterial communities and their interactions makes it possible to use probiotics in the broiler husbandry more effectively