Effects of prebiotic (Fermacto) in low protein diet on some blood parameters and intestinal microbiota of broiler chicks

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of prebiotic (Fermacto) in low protein diet on serum cholesterol and intestinal microbiota of broiler chicks. One hundred and fifty six 1-day old Ross 308 broiler chicks of both sexes were used for 42 days. The chicks were randomly allocated to 12 pens containing 13 chicks each with 3 replicates and assigned to receive one of the 4 dietary treatments of 2 levels of protein (low and high) and 2 levels of prebiotic (0 and 0.2%) in a completely randomised design with factorial arrangement. There were no significant differences in serum HDL and LDL levels among treatments. Significant differences were observed in serum cholesterol and intestinal microflora between the high protein diet without prebiotic and the low protein diet containing prebiotic (P<0.05). The results of the present experiment showed that the addition of prebiotic to broiler diets containing 90% of the NRC protein recommendation significantly affects serum cholesterol and intestinal microflora of broiler chicks (P<0.05)