Fernando Guilherme Perazzo Costa1, José Humberto Vilar da Silva1, Raffaella Castro de Lima1, Cleber Franklin Santos de Oliveira1, Valéria Pereira Rodrigues1, Sarah Gomes Pinheiro

Significant progress in the area of animal production is due to the development of researches on genetics, environment, health, management and nutrition. The search for better management conditions that benefit animal welfare resulted in changes to the installation. The genetic improvement more productive animals has encouraged the number of searches to reduce the incidence of diseases, mainly of metabolic origin. The incorporation in products with higher bioavailability as industrial amino acid and organic minerals, the inclusion of products modifiers enteric of microflora as probiotic, prebiotic, symbiotic, nucleotides and exogenous enzymes, has benefited the use of nutrients are not well absorbed and often unavailable in the diet. Biotechnology latest as nutrition in egg and molecular biology has been used for the benefit of the increase animal productivity.

C. Cumpanasoiu, E. Tirziu, Ileana Nichita, Monica Şeres

The purpose of this research was to establish the effect of Biomin IMBO probiotic upon broilers chicken vaccinated against Newcastle disease. Probiotic effect was assessed by emphasis of the most important zoo-economic changes induced by these bioadditive. Group C (control) and E2 (experimental 2) were fed with standard combined diet; group E1 and E3 were fed with standard combined diet and Biomin IMBO added to the starter diet at 1 kg/tonne, and in grower diet at 0.5 kg/tonne. Birds from group E2 and E3 were vaccinated against Newcastle disease. All broilers were periodically weighted and at the control slaughtering the carcasses were cut in commercial pieces and: average daily gain, specific feed intake and slaughtering efficiency were quantified. Results analysis suggest that the highest values of weig-ht were registered in experimental group E3 (probiotic + vaccination), while C, E1 and E2 have variability two and half fold higher. Also, the obtained results proved that positive effect of Biomin IMBO on s mation of average daily gain and specific ntake was 13.49%.

S.B. Akinleye, E.A. Iyayi and K.D. Afolabi

The ban on the use of synthetic growth promoters in farm animals due to its residual effects on consumers and resistance build up by pathogens or bacteria necessitates the use of natural symbiotic growth promoters. Eight weeks feeding trial was carried out on performance, hematological and carcass measures of one hundred and twenty day old Ross breed broiler chicks maintained on diets containing 1g/kg biomin - a growth promoter, at both starter and finisher phases. Oral biomin (20mg/bird) were also given at both phases for three consecutive days. The starter mash fed contained 22% crude protein (cp) and 3,000 kcal metabolizable energy (ME) per kg of feed while the finisher’s mash contained 17% cp and 3,020 kcal ME/kg of feed. Control diets without biomin were allowed at both phases. The difference in the performance characteristics, haemotological parameters and carcass and organ weights of birds on both treatments were not significant (P > 0.05) after eight weeks of feeding. A mortality of 6.67% was recorded among birds on control diets as against zero mortality in diets with biomin. Resistance of birds to pathogen or diseases has been improved by biomin.

K. Ghareeb and J. Böh

There is a growing interest concerning the welfare problems associated with harvesting, transportation and pre-slaughter handling of broilers. Transportation is a multifactor process associated with a variety of stressors which may covertly reduce welfare. Plasma corticosterone is elevated following a road which is consistent with the post-transport increase of heterophil: lymphocyte ratios (H/L ratios). Plasma corticosterone was compared with H/L ratio responses to various stressors and the latter was the better indicator of stress in poultry. In the present study, stress responses were evaluated in broiler chickens fed for 5 weeks a synbiotic Biomin® IMBO (a combination of Enterococcus faecium), a pre-biotic (derived from chicory) and immune modulating substances (derived from sea algae), with a dose of 1 kg/ ton of the starter diets and 0.5 kg/ton of the grower diets). The birds were subjected to 80 km transport journey (90 min approximately). Heterophil (H) counts, Lymphocyte (L) counts and Heterophil to mphocyte (H/L) ratios were determined immediately on arrival and at 24 h following bird’s transport. The H/L ratios decreased after 24 h from arrival from transport journey by about 17 % for birds fed synbiotic BIOMIN IMBO compared with controls. However, a non significant increase in L counts and a non significant decrease in H counts and H/L ratios at 24 h following bird’s transport for birds fed BIOMIN IMBO compared with controls. In conclusion, feeding of BIOMIN IMBO relatively modulates the stress indicator of transported birds and relatively enhances tolerance to stress after pre-slaughter handling and transportation.

H. A. Ghasemi and K. Taherpour

A 42-d trial was conducted to compare the effects of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic supplements on growth performance, morphology of the jejunum, serum lipid profile and antibody response of broiler chickens. A total of 400 one-d-old male broiler chicks were randomly divided into four treatment groups of four replicates (25 birds per replicate) and fed corn-soybean meal diets. The dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet without any feed additive (control diet), a basal diet with added probiotics (diet Pro), a basal diet with added prebiotics (diet Pre), and a basal diet with added synbiotics (diet Syn). The birds fed diet Syn exhibited higher body weight gain (BWG) and better feed conversion ratio (FCR) than those fed the control diet during the entire experimental period (P<0.05). Feeding diets Pro, Pre and Syn significantly increased the villus height and villus height:crypt length ratio in the jejunum of broilers at 42 d of age (P<0.05). The birds fed any of the experimental diets, exhibited lower levels of serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) than those fed the control diet at 28 and 42 days of age (P<0.05). At 41 d of age, the total antibody titer against sheep red blood cell (SRBC) in the birds fed diets Pro, Pre and Syn were higher than in the birds fed the control diet, with the birds fed diet Syn having the highest antibody titer (P<0.05). None of the diets affected feed intake, crypt depth in the jejunum, serum triglyceride level and primary antibody response against SRBC. The results suggested that diets supplemented with probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics could improve growth performance and health benefits of the broiler chicks by improving intestinal morphology, fat metabolism and immune function.

S. Çakir, M. Midilli, H. Erol, N. Şimsek, M. Çinar, A. Altintas, H. Alp, L. Altintas, Ö. Cengiz, A. Antalyali

The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of Biomin® IMBO (combination of probiotic, prebiotic, phytogenic substances and cell wall fragments), of Biotronic (combination of formic and propionic acid), of a combination of the Biomin® IMBO and Biotronic and of an antibiotic, avilamycin, as feed additives on the growth performance, several serum parameters and digestive villus height of quails. A total of 300 1-day-old Japanese quail chicks were randomly divided into 5 experimental groups with 4 replicates of 15 birds per replicate. The experimental design consisted of 5 dietary treatments: 1) a control diet without supplementation; 2) a diet with Biomin® IMBO at a level of 0.1 kg/100 kg feed; 3) a diet with Biotronic at a level of 0.4 kg/100 kg feed; 4) a diet with a Biomin® IMBO and Biotronic combination at levels given above; 5) a diet with avilamycin at a level of 10 mg/kg feed. Birds consuming diet supplemented with Biomin® IMBO, Biotronic and the combating of Biomin® IMBO and Biotronic, had a significantly (P<0.05) higher duodenal villus height. Single use of Biomin® IMBO and Biotronic also caused significantly higher jejunal (P<0.05) villus height. No significant differences in serum parameters were found among groups according to dietary supplements. No beneficial effect of dietary supplements on growth performance, feed intake, feed efficiency and absolute and proportional organ weights could be observed. The beneficial effects of such supplements could be more evident in other circumstances, like stress.

H. Hassanpour, A. K. Zamani Moghaddam, M. Khosravi, M. Mayahi.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of synbiotic on humoral response to Newcastle disease vaccine and intestinal morphology. A total of 108 one-d- old fast-growing broiler chickens (Ross 308) were allocated to pens, then, pens were assigned to 1 control and 2 treatments with 3 pens per treatment and 12 chickens per pen. Chickens were reared at standard condition for 6 week and provided a standard basal diet and diets supplemented with 0.1 or 0.2% synbiotic. On d 8, 22, 32, and 42, 12 chickens from each treatment were randomly selected and blood samples were collected. Antibody response was measured by the hemagglutination inhibition technique. On d 22, and 42, 12 chickens from each treatment were killed and 3 segments of intestine were dissected for evaluation of intestinal morphology. Antibody titers were increased in chickens fed the diet supplemented with symbiotic (Po0.05). Antibody level in chickens fed the diet supplemented with synbiotic increased at d 22, 32, and 42 compared to d 8. Amount of antibody was increased at d 32 compared to other day in chickens fed 0.2% synbiotic supplement. Antibody level was progressively reduced in the control group at d 22, 32, and 42. Duodenal villus height was greater in both treatments than their controls. Duodenal villus surface area was also greater in chickens fed 0.1% synbiotic supplement than controls at d 22, 32, and 42. Jejunal villus width and surface area were lower in chickens fed 0.2% synbiotic supplement than controls on d 22 and 42. Ileal villus height was lower in chickens fed 0.2% synbiotic supplement than controls on d 42, while the villus width and surface area were only greater in chickens fed the diet supplemented with 0.1% synbiotic. The sum of measured villus surface area in 3 intestinal parts was greater only in chickens fed 0.1% synbiotic supplement on d 42. Villus types changed from leaf and tongue to convoluted and ridge shapes in both treatments on d 22 and 42 (ileum, 0.1 and 0.2% synbiotic) and 32 (jejunum, 0.2% synbiotic) compared to their controls. It is concluded that synbiotic had beneficial effects on antibody production, and antibody levels in chickens fed synbiotic supplement were maintained or increased during rearing. In intestine, only 0.1% synbiotic had positive effect on intestinal morphology.

Seyyed Morteza Dibaji1, Alireza Seidavi1 and Leila Asadpour

This study investigated the effect of symbiotic (Biomin IMBO) on some blood metabolites of Ross broilers. Two hundred Roosters were divided into five treatments: the first is the control group that fed the basal diet, the second group fed the basal diet + Biomin at the manufacturer’s proposed level, the third group fed the basal diet + Biomin at the level 25% lower than the that proposed by the manufacturer, the fourth group fed the basal diet + Biomin at the level 25% higher than the company's proposed level and the fifth group fed the basal diet + Biomin at the level 50% higher than the manufacturer's proposed level. At the end of the experiment (42 days), blood samples were taken to measure the studied parameters. The results showed that the symbiotic Biomin inclusion in the diet had no significant effect on blood protein, albumin, high density lipoprotein (HDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), triglyceride, cholesterol, uric acid and glucose. However, an improved effect on blood low density lipoprote (LDL) and HDL to LDL ratio were observed in the group had the inclusion of 50% high level of Biomin. Given the scope and appropriate impact of symbiotic Biomin IMBO, the use of this supplement at higher dose appears to be effective on the biochemical composition of blood.

Mohammad Reza Sharifi, Mahmoud Shams-Shargh, Behrouz Dastar, Saeed Hassani

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of synbiotic on performance parameters, blood characteristics and carcass yields of Japanese quails fed diets containing different levels of protein. In a completely randomized design with 3 x 3 factorial arrangements, 720- day-old healthy Japanese quails were randomly allocated into 9 groups with 4 replicates of 20 chicks. Treatments consisted of combination of 3 levels of crude protein (CP): A) sufficient protein diet (24%, high CP) from 0 to 42 days of age; B) low protein diet (22.08%, low CP) from 0 to 42 days of age; C) sufficient protein diet from 0 to 21 days-low protein diet from 21 to 42 (medium CP) days of age and three levels of synbiotic, without, recommended and 150% of recommended levels, respectively. The results showed that there were no significant differences in feed conversation ratio, feed intake and body weight among treatments due to the interaction of CP and synbiotic levels. However, body weight and daily weight gain and feed conversation ratio improved (P<0.05) for bird fed medium and high CP compared with birds fed low CP in diet. The level of serum triglyceride decreased significantly (P<0.05) by adding different levels of symbiotic in diet. However, the effects of synbiotic supplementation on other blood parameters (cholesterol, total protein serum, uric acid, HDL and LDL) were not statistically significant among the groups (P>0.05). The effect of CP and synbiotic levels on the carcass yields of quail were not statistically significant.

Seyed Mozafar Seyed Mehdizadeh Taklimi, Hushang Lotfollahian, Ahmad Zarea Shahne, Farhad Mirzaei, Alireza Alinejad.

400 days old chicks were distributed randomly into 4 treatments and 4 replicates in each treatment (25 birds in each replicate) and fed standard feed. The effects of different levels of pro-biotic in diets for 49 days were studied. Humoral immune responses were studied by conducting experiments on cellular proliferation, entry and survival of beneficial bacteria in gut, immunoglobulin titers. Mean body weight. Gain, feed intake and feed efficiency were recorded significantly (P < 0.05). Immune response of chicks through study of levels of anti-body productions (even after SRBC injections) in experimental groups were also significantly different as com- pared with the control group (P < 0.01).The bacteriological and intestinal morphology studies were showed significantly different in birds, when fed probiotics. Therefore, it can be suggested the probiotic (Biomin Imbo) can be safely used at the rate of 0.1%, 0.05% and 0.025% in starter, grower and finisher diets. The aim of the experiment was to evaluate whether selected probiotic (Biomin Imbo) 3 × 108 cfu/g have different immune modulating effects in broiler chickens.