Background: Control and eradication of intestinal infections caused by protozoa are important biomedical challenges worldwide. Prophylactic control of coccidiosis has been achieved with the use of anticoccidial drugs; however, the increase in anticoccidial resistance has raised concerns about the need for new alternatives for the control of coccidial infections. In fact, new strategies are needed to induce potent protective immune responses in neonatal individuals.

KeywordsBroiler chickens, growth promotion, immune system, glycyrrhizic acid.Submitted: February/2015 Approved: March/2016 ABSTRACT Considering that glycyrrhizic acid (GRA) has been shown to have in-vitro and in-vivo antiviral activity against a wide range of viruses as well as immunostimulating activity, a trial to evaluate its effects on the performance and the immune response against Newcastle disease of broiler chickens was carried out. The study was performed with oneday-old Ross x Ross broiler chickens. GRA was added to the drinking water throughout the 49-d production cycle at a dose of 0.03%. Sample size of the trial was established in a pilot assay. Results showed that broiler chickens treated with GRA presented better weight gain, final body weight, feed conversion ratio, and lower mortality rate than the non-treated controls. In addition, GRA-treated birds presented higher antibody titers against Newcastle disease virus and more efficient cellular immune response, as demonstrated by the late-hypersensitivity response test. Blood lymphocyte and thrombocyte counts also increased in this group. The histopathological examination of the bursa, spleen, and thymus revealed that only the thymus of the GRA-treated group had a clearly defined increase in cortex thickness on day 49. The bursa showed a higher number of lymphoid lesions in CG on days 21 and 49 compared with the GRA group. These results suggest that GRA has growth promotion properties, which are possibly linked to immunebased effects.

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The current studies were undertaken to assess the ability of humoral immune response in breeding hens to provide protective maternal antibody in the progeny. A highly purified outer membrane protein, 34 kDa, was isolated from a virulent strain of Salmonella Gallinarum. Cross-reactivity was observed between this protein and Salmonella Typhi porins; thus we consider this outer membrane protein as a Salmonella Gallinarum porin. To evaluate passive immunity against Salmonella Gallinarum, 200 broiler breeder hens were immunized with either 10 microg of Salmonella Gallinarum porins, 30 microg of Salmonella Gallinarum porins, or PBS without porins as a control group. Anti-Salmonella Gallinarum porin antibodies were detected in broiler breeder serum and in fertile eggs (P < 0.05). Consequently, chickens from immunized broiler breeder hens were protected between 53 to 70% against challenges of 20 to 500 half-maximal lethal dose of Salmonella Gallinarum (P < 0.001) when compared with control hens that were injected with PBS. These results suggest that Salmonella Gallinarum porins, as those of other Salmonella species, participate in the induction of the passive protective immunity, and the humoral immune response may be one of the mechanisms involved in the establishment of this protection.

This study was performed in 360 laying Bovans White hens and aimed to evaluate the effect of Carbo‐Amino‐Phosphate‐Chelates (CAFQ) as a mineral premix and its 30% reduction by compared to inorganic trace minerals (ITM) concerning its performance, egg quality, tibia breaking strength and immunity. Sixty‐week‐old hens were assigned into three treatments with 10 replicates of 12 birds each. Treatments were as follows: (a) (100% ITM), (b) (100% CAFQ) and (c) (70% CAFQ). Based on the results obtained during 12 weeks, under the current test conditions, improved yolk colour (p < 0.05); shell breaking strength (p < 0.05); and storage time (p < 0.05) were observed in hens fed with a diet reduced by 70% in CAFQ inclusion showed similar performance behaviour and better egg breaking strength regarding with ITM, suggesting the possibility of minimizing the inclusion of trace minerals in laying hen diets improving environmental impact, in contrast to the use of inorganic sources of minerals.

This study evaluated different levels of metabolisable energy (ME) and two oil types: crude soybean oil (CSO) and acidulated soybean oil (ASO), in sorghum-soybean meal diets for broilers. One thousand and eight unsexed Ross 308 chicks aged 1 to 49 days old were used in a factorial arrangement design 2x3. The first factor corresponded to the oils (CSO and ASO) and the second factor corresponded to the ME levels (high, medium and low) in the initiation (1-10 days), growing (11-25 days) and finishing (26-48 days) feeds, with a 90 kcal/kg reduction. The treatments were as follows:

This study was conducted to evaluate the productive performance, intestinal health, and description of the cecum microbiota in broilers supplemented with β-mannanases (MNs) and bacteriophages (BPs). Six hundred one-day-old broilers were divided into four groups and fed one of the following diets: CON—corn–soybean meal + 10 ppm enramycin (ENR); MN: CON + 500 ppm MN; BP: CON + 500 ppm BP; MN + BP: BP + 500 ppm MN. The BP and MN factors showed similar performances to ENR. MN improved the concentration of IgA in the jejunum at 35 days of age. The morphometric index (IM) of the thymus increased by adding MN, while BP increased the liver and thymus IM. The histological analysis showed that BP and MN improved the intestinal morphology. MN + BP showed a tendency to decrease the abundance of Proteobacteria and increase the abundance of Bacteroidetes, indicating better microbiota function. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the combination of MN + BP has potential in poultry nutrition; however, we highly recommend further experiments to confirm this hypothesis.

This study analyzed the effects of different dietary doses of encapsulated propyl propane thiosulfonate (Pe-PTSO) on the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of nutrients and productive performance in broilers. A total of 100 one-day-old Cobb 500 were housed in battery cages for 20 days. At 10 days of age, the birds were assigned to one of five diets: negative control (P0), 250 mg/kg of Pe-PTSO (P250), 500 mg/kg of Pe-PTSO (P500), 750 mg/kg of Pe-PTSO (P750), and positive control, nicarbazin–narasin (ION). Titanium dioxide was the external marker, which was added to the diets from day 17 to 20. In the birds fed the P250 diet, there was a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in the AID values for amino acids and energy compared to those that consumed the P0 diet. Furthermore, the P250 diet significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05) the average daily weight gain compared to the P0 diet. No significant differences were observed between treatments in average daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio. In summary, the inclusion of 250 mg of encapsulated PTSO per kg in broiler chickens diet improved the digestibility of amino acids and energy, as well as weight gain.