The current trend in reducing the antibiotic usage in animal production imposes urgency in the identification of novel biocides. The essential oil carvacrol, for example, changes the morphology of the cell and acts against a variety of targets within the bacterial membranes and cytoplasm, and our in vitro results show that it reduces adhesion and invasion of chicken intestinal primary cells and also biofilm formation. A trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of carvacrol at four concentrations (0, 120, 200, and 300 mg/kg of diet) on the performance of Lactobacillus spp., Escherichia coli, Campylobacter spp., and broilers. Each of the four diets was fed to three replicates/trial of 50 chicks each from day 0 to 35. Our results show that carvacrol linearly decreased feed intake, feed conversion rates and increased body weight at all levels of supplementation. Plate count analysis showed that Campylobacter spp. was only detected at 35 days in the treatment groups compared with the control group where the colonization occurred at 21 days. The absence of Campylobacter spp. at 21 days in the treatment groups was associated with a significant increase in the relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. Also, carvacrol was demonstrated to have a significant effect on E. coli numbers in the cecum of the treatment groups, at all supplementation levels. In conclusion, this study shows for the first time that at different concentrations, carvacrol can delay Campylobacter spp., colonization of chicken broilers, by inducing changes in gut microflora, and it demonstrates promise as an alternative to the use of antibiotics.
This study was performed in order to determine whether human isolated probiotic bacteria can be effective in reducing Campylobacter jejuni infection of chicken intestinal cells, in vitro, and in decreasing its colonization abilities within the chicken gut. Our results show that the probiotic strains Lactobacillus paracasei J. R, L. rhamnosus 15b, L. lactis Y, and L. lactis FOa had a significant effect on C. jejuni invasion of chicken primary cells, with the strongest inhibitory effect detected when a combination of four was administered. In regard to the in vivo effect, using all four strains in one combination prevented mucus colonization in the duodenum and cecum. Moreover, the pathogen load in the lumen of these two compartments was significantly reduced. When probiotics were introduced during the early growth period, the presence of the pathogen in feces was increased (p>0.05), but when they were given during the last week of growth, there was no significant effect. In conclusion, our data indicate that these four new probiotic strains are able to cause modifications in the chicken intestinal mucosa and can reduce the ability of C. jejuni to invade, in vitro, and to colonize, in vivo. These probiotics are now proven to be effective even when introduced in broiler's feed 7 days before slaughter, which makes them cost-effective for the producers.
In order to evaluate the effect of diet supplementation with Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on growth and laying performances of quail in soudano-guinean zone of Cameroon, a study has been conducted in Ngaoundéré from May to September 2018. For this purpose, a total of 168 seven weeks old quails were divided into 12 comparable batches of 10 females and 4 males. Each of the four experimental diets (T0, T1, T2 and T3), formulated on the basis of the level (0, 1, 2, and 3% respectively) of diet supplementation with MOLM was randomly assigned to 03 batches in a completely randomized. Data were collected during the 16 weeks of the study on feed intake (FI), body weight (BW), body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. Weekly, after total laid eggs evaluation, 40 eggs per treatment was randomly chosen, weighed and measured. Main findings revealed that FI was not significantly affected by the diet supplementation with MOLM. Significantly higher BW and BW gain was recorded in T1 treatment compared to others treatments while they remains similar between them. The relatively heavier eggs were noted in T2 treatment while the highest (88.57 ± 2.85%) weekly laying rate was recorded with 1% supplementation. It has then been concluded that MOLM could be used as diet supplement during laying phase up to 3% for egg production and 1% of substitution seem to be the most appropriate to increase eggs laying rate while 2% is suitable to obtain heavy eggs in the soudano-guinean agro ecological zone of Cameroon.
From July to November 2019, a study has been carried out in the locality of Ngaoundéré in order to contribute to a better knowledge of exotic hens. For this purpose, 190 improved strain chicks of one day-old with an average weight of 35.49±3.78g were distributed according to the type of feather. They were fed an iso-energetic and iso-proteic feed. Data on phenotype characteristics, growth performance, biometric data and carcass were determined. The main results show that three types of feathering were recorded with 16.4% of hens with bare necks and with feathered pits, 78.1% of hens with feathered pits and 5.5% of hens with normal feathers. The majority of hens were recorded with a single comb (75.3%), round mumps (71.2%), white pits (76.4%), black beaks (47.9%) and brown eyes (75.3%). In terms of zootechnical performance, the highest live weight (1758.00±322.20g) was recorded with naked-necked hens and feathered pits. The highest weekly average weight gain was recorded with yellow eyed hens (111.77±16.63g) followed by bare-necked and feathered pits (107.83±20.06g). Hens expressing the Na and Pti genes showed the best growth performance although carcass yield was not significantly affected by feather type. It was concluded that there is a very high phenotypic diversity in the so-called improved hens. However, despite their great potential, responsible management of this genetic resource should be encouraged in order to avoid genetic erosion of local poultry resources.
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