Probiotics and phytogenics have been evaluated as potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in poultry feeds in terms of their ability to improve growth performance in commercial ...poultry production through improving growth performance, feed conversion ratio and immune response efficiency. This study investigated the benefits of Lactobacillus culture (LC), green tea extracts (GTE) and Berberis vulgaris extracts (BVRE) have been investigated on the immune response, lymphoid organs, and antioxidant properties of broiler chickens. A total of 320 one-day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly allotted to 8 treatment groups, each including 4 replicates of 10 chicks. A 2x2x2 factorial arrangement of 8 dietary treatments was used to appraise the effects of the mixture of five LC (none vs. 1-5 * 10.sup.8 cf u/g), GTE (none vs. 2500 ppm) and BVRE (none vs. 2500 ppm). The relative weight of lymphoid organs (spleen, thymus and bursa of Fabricius), antioxidant parameters of malondialdehyde (MDA) content and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and immune response indices (white blood cells, antibody response to sheep red blood cell, respiratory burst and splenocytes proliferation) were assessed. According to the results of the current experiment, the relative weights of the spleen and bursa were significantly higher than the control group in broilers fed the LC diet (P < 0.01). The combination of LC and GTE significantly decreased MDA as compared to broilers fed the control diet (P < 0.05). Moreover, the GTE diet markedly increased the T-AOC compared to the control (P < 0.01). The LC and plant extract treatments significantly improved the humoral and cellular immune systems (P < 0.01). Based on obtained results, plant extracts in combination with Lactobacillus strains can improve the immune responses of broiler chickens. Keywords: antioxidant activity, broiler, immune parameters, Lactobacillus strains, plant extracts
The bile salt hydrolysis (BSH) enzyme weakens fat metabolism through bile salt deconjugation and reduces poultry performance, in order to cope with the antibacterial properties of the bile. ...Therefore, reducing the activity of this enzyme through the use of feed additives is probably a promising alternative to antibiotics for improving poultry performance. Plant extracts have long been used as feed additives for promoting poultry growth. In the current experiment, five Lactobacillus strains including Lactobacillus animalis, Lactobacillus acidophillus, Lactobacillus gallinarum, Lactobacillus lactis, and Lactobacillus returi were obtained from the poultry hindgut and were used as the probiotic application. A plate test and two-step enzymatic reaction method were used for deconjugation activity determination of the Lactobacillus strains. Further, four plant extracts (i.e., the aerial parts of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Roselle calyx (Hibiscus sabdariffa), Berberis vulgaris root, and Green tea) were examined in terms of BSH enzyme inhibitors using the cell-free extracts as the potential antibiotic alternative. Furthermore, the gallbladders of the broilers were freshly collected from the poultry slaughterhouses, and their contents were extracted. The results showed that all Lactobacillus strains could hydrolyze the taurocholate acid (TCA) and chicken bile salt mixture (CBSM) to unconjugated bile acid. Moreover, ethanolic extracts of B. vulgaris root and Green tea relatively reduced the activity of the BSH enzyme that could potentially be investigated as an appropriate alternative in poultry feed in vivo. In conclusion, all five Lactobacillus strains were resistant to bile salts (i.e. TCA and CBSM) by BSH activity, and the addition of Green tea and B. vulgaris root extracts to the bacterial medium demonstrated inhibitory effects against the BSH enzyme.
Enzimi hidrolaze žučnih soli (BSH) oslabljuju metabolizam masti dekonjugacijom žučnih soli što dovodi do smanjenja proizvodnosti u peradi. Smanjenje aktivnosti ovog enzima, upotrebom dodataka ...prehrani, mogla bi biti obećavajuća alternativa za primjenu određenih antibiotika u peradarstvu. Biljni ekstrakti dugo se upotrebljavaju kao dodaci prehrani za poticanje rasta. U ovom je istraživanju pet sojeva bakterije Lactobacillus, uključujući Lactobacillus animalis, Lactobacillus acidophillus, Lactobacillus gallinarum, Lactobacillus lactis i Lactobacillus returi, dobiveno iz stražnjeg dijela crijeva peradi te upotrijebljeno kao probiotik. Test na ploči i enzimska reakcija u dva koraka primijenjene su za utvrđivanje aktivnosti dekonjugacije u sojeva Lactobacillus. Nadalje, četiri biljna ekstrakta - nadzemni dijelovi ružmarina (Rosmarinus officinalis), hibiskusa (Hibiscus sabdariffa), korijen obične žutike (Berberis vulgaris) i zeleni čaj - istraživana su s obzirom na inhibitore enzima BSH upotrebom izvanstaničnih ekstrakata kao moguća zamjena antibiotiku. Osim toga, nakon usmrćivanja, prikupljeni su svježi žučni mjehuri brojlera te je izvađen njihov sadržaj. Rezultati su pokazali da svi sojevi bakterije Lactobacillus mogu hidrolizirali tauroholatnu kiselinu i žučne soli pilića (CBSM) u nekonjugiranu žučnu kiselinu. Štoviše, ekstrakti etanola korijena B. vulgaris i zelenog čaja relativno su smanjili aktivnost BSH enzima što bi se moglo istražiti u hranidbi peradi in vivo. Zaključno, svih pet sojeva bakterije Lactobacillus bilo je otporno na žučne soli npr. tauroholičnu kiselinu (TCA) i (CBSM) putem BSH aktivnosti, a dodatak zelenog čaja i ekstrakta korijena B. vulgaris mediju s bakterijama pokazali su inhibitorne učinke protiv BSH enzima.