Foundation and perspectives of the use of plant extracts as performance enhancers in broilers

Feed is responsible for about 70% of broilers production costs, leading to an increasing number of studies on alternative dietary products that benefit bird performance and lower production costs. Since the 1950s, antimicrobial additives are the most frequently used performance enhancers in animal production and their positive results are observed even in high-challenge conditions. Since the 1990s, due to the ban of the use of some antibiotics as growth promoters and the growing trend of the public to consume natural products, plant extracts have been researched as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters. The first study that evaluated the antibacterial activities of plant extracts was carried out in 1881; however, they started to be used as flavor enhancers only during the next decades. With the emergence of antibiotics in the 1950s, the use of plant extracts as antimicrobial agents almost disappeared. There are several studies in literature assessing the use of plant extracts, individually or in combination, as antimicrobials, antioxidants, or digestibility enhancers in animal feeds. Research results on the factors affecting their action, such as plant variety, harvest time, processing, extraction, as well as the technology employed to manufacture the commercial product and dietary inclusion levels show controversial results, warranting the need of further research and standardization for the effective use of plant extracts as performance enhancers, when added to animal feeds. This article aims at presenting plant extracts as alternatives to antibiotics, explaining their main modes of action as performance enhancers in broiler production

Dietary oxidized poultry offal fat: broiler performance and oxidative stability of thigh meat during chilled storage

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary oxidized poultry offal fat on the performance of broilers and on the oxidative stability of dark chicken meat. One hundred and sixty male chicks were fed a corn-soybean meal diet containing 4% fresh or oxidized poultry fat from 10 to 47 days of age. Fresh fat was stored frozen until diets were produced, and oxidized fat was obtained by electrical heating (110 to 120 ºC). Birds were slaughtered at 47 days of age, and carcass characteristics were measured. Skinless and deboned thigh meat was stored chilled during 12 days, and samples were periodically collected to assess their quality and oxidative stability. Dietary oxidized fat did not affect bird performance or carcass characteristics. During chilled storage, meat color (L*, a* and b*) was not affected by dietary treatments; however, TBARS (Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances) values were higher (P<0.05) in thigh meat from chickens fed the oxidized fat, indicating that oxidative stability was adversely affected.FAPES

Efeito da Adição do Antioxidante BHT e do Armazenamento Sobre a Qualidade da Farinha de Carne e Ossos Para Frangos de Corte

Este estudo foi desenvolvido com a finalidade monitorar a qualidade da farinha de carne e ossos (FCO), durante o armazenamento prolongado (10 semanas), e avaliar os efeitos da adição do BHT (500mg/kg) a esta farinha. Um lote fresco de FCO (41,12% PB e 9,14% EE) foi dividido em seis partes iguais, sendo uma não tratada (CONTROLE) e as demais tratadas com BHT em diferentes tempos de armazenamento (nos dias 0, 7, 14, 21 e 28: BHT/0, BHT/7, BHT/14, BHT/21 e BHT/28, respectivamente). As FCO foram armazenadas em ambiente diariamente monitorado e sua qualidade foi avaliada por amostragens semanais, com determinação do índice de peróxidos, cujo nível máximo obtido foi de aproximadamente 80meq/kg (CONTROLE). A partir da 4ª semana de armazenamento, foi conduzido um experimento com frangos de corte alimentados por 42 dias com rações à base de milho e farelo de soja, contendo cerca de 4% das FCO armazenadas. Foram utilizados 1.440 pintos de um dia, machos, distribuídos num delineamento em blocos casualizados, com 6 tratamentos e 6 repetições. Os resultados médios obtidos para peso vivo, ganho de peso, consumo de ração, conversão alimentar, mortalidade e refugagem e fator de produção foram submetidos à análise da variância e as médias dos tratamentos foram comparadas ao CONTROLE através do teste de Dunnett. As variáveis estudadas, em geral, não foram afetadas pelos tratamentos (p>0,05), indicando que, neste estudo, o uso da FCO oxidada ou das FCO protegidas pelo BHT, não influenciaram o desempenho das aves