BackgroundThe increasing trend of ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) across the globe in the poultry industry has led to a growing need for alternatives to AGPs. Prebiotic, probiotic and their combination as a synbiotic have been considered as potential alternatives. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a prebiotic (isomaltooligosaccharide, IMO), a probiotic (PrimaLac®), and their combination (synbiotic) on hen performance, biochemical and haematological responses, and relative organ weights from 20 to 52 weeks of age.ResultsSupplementation of 1% IMO (PRE), 0.1% PrimaLac® (PRO) and 1% IMO + 0.1% PrimaLac® (SYN) improved (P < 0.05) feed intake and egg production at 20–36 weeks of age; body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and egg mass at 20–36 and 20–52 weeks of age; and egg weight at 20–36, 37–52 and 20–52 weeks of age. Compared to control-fed hens at 20–36 weeks of age, PRO- and SYN-fed hens produced less (P < 0.05) small size eggs while SYN-fed hens produced more large size eggs. From 37 to 52 weeks of age, PRE-, PRO- or SYN-fed hens produced less (P < 0.05) medium size eggs, and more large and extra-large size eggs. PRE, PRO or SYN supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) the serum total cholesterol at 36 weeks of age, and serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) at 36 and 52 weeks of age. At 36 and 52 weeks of age, supplementation of PRE, PRO or SYN increased (P < 0.05) lymphocyte percentage and decreased (P < 0.05) heterophil percentage, leading to a lower heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratio. No significant differences were observed in the relative weights of the heart, liver, ovary, pancreas and spleen of all dietary treatment groups.ConclusionsSupplementation of PRE, PRO or SYN improved performance, serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, ALT, ALP and H/L ratio of hens from 20 to 52 weeks of age. These results demonstrated the use of PRE, PRO and SYN as alternative feed additives to AGPs for improving the health and productivity of hens, while PRO is the best for commercial layer production to yield maximum profit.

Oil palm fronds (OPF) are one of the main by-products of the oil palm industry in Malaysia. It contains about 38.5 % crude fibre with ME values of about 5.65 MJ/kg dry matter. OPF has great potential to be utilized as a roughage source or as a component in a complete feed for ruminant animals. This paper briefly reviews the availability of OPF in Malaysia and its importance in the local beef and dairy industry. About 26 million metric tonnes of OPF are produced on dry matter basis annually during pruning and replanting operations in the plantations. The nutritive value of OPF and studies to improve its feeding value is highlighted. The optimum level of inclusion for ruminant feeding is 30 % and improvement to intake and digestibility can be further enhanced with addition of other oil-palm by-products. Performances of beef and dairy cattle fed fresh OPF or as silage, pellets and cubes are shown. Good quality OPF silage can be produced without using any additive and the significant improvement on the rate of growth and milk yield were shown. With good formulations, OPF based diets can allow live weight gains of between 600-850 g/day and for local crossbred dairy animals, milk yield of about 11.1 to 20.3 liter/day can be obtained. Pellet based on ground OPF seemed to be less well utilized for ruminant feeding due to its smaller particle size. OPF based cubes which have longer particle size is more suitable for beef and dairy cattle. Long-term feeding of OPF based feeds have been shown to produce good quality carcasses, and the meat is safe for consumption.

A 16-wk feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of a prebiotic, isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO), a probiotic, PrimaLac®, and their combination as a synbiotic on the chemical compositions of egg yolks and the egg quality of laying hens. One hundred and sixty 16-wk-old Hisex Brown pullets were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments: (i) basal diet (control), (ii) basal diet + 1% IMO (PRE), (iii) basal diet + 0.1% PrimaLac® (PRO), and (iv) basal diet + 1% IMO + 0.1% PrimaLac® (SYN). PRE, PRO, or SYN supplementation not only significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the egg yolk cholesterol (24- and 28-wk-old) and total saturated fatty acids (SFA; 28-, 32-, and 36-wk-old), but also significantly (P < 0.05) increased total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA; 28-, 32-, and 36-wk-old), total omega 6 and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), including linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid levels in the eggs (28-wk-old). However, the total lipids, carotenoids, and tocopherols in the egg yolks were similar among all dietary treatments in the 24-, 28-, 32-, and 36-wk-old hens. Egg quality (Haugh unit, relative weights of the albumen and yolk, specific gravity, shell thickness, and yolk color) was not affected by PRE, PRO, or SYN supplementation. The results indicate that supplementations with IMO and PrimaLac® alone or in combination as a synbiotic might be useful for improving the cholesterol content and modifying the fatty acid compositions of egg yolk without affecting the quality of eggs from laying hens between 24 and 36 wk of age.

SUMMARY. Strains of group-G streptococci were tested by a "fingerprinting" method for the production of (P typing) and sensitivity to (S typing) inhibitory agents, and were biotyped. In the standard P-typing test, 28 of 50 strains of human origin, but none of 30 strains of animal origin, showed inhibitory activity. Of the human strains, 12 formed a bacteriocin that was active on group-A streptococci, including three (strains 12, I5 and 18) of the four streptococci of this group among the indicator strains. Sixteen other human strains inhibited the fourth group-A indicator (strain I7), and to a lesser extent strain 12, by lowering the pH of the typing medium. This acid-mediated inhibition was eliminated by testing on a medium containing calcium carbonate 0.5%; the 16 strains were then completely non-inhibitory, and the bacteriocinforming strains, the typing pattern of which had originally been 12,15, 17, 18, showed only inhibition attributable to the action of the bacteriocin. Nearly all group-A streptococci were sensitive to the group-G bacteriocin. The indicator strain I7 and several other members of M-type 28 were exceptions, but their resistance was not associated with the presence of R-antigen 28. Fifteen inhibitor-sensitivity patterns and 12 biotypes were identified among the strains; some of these tended to be associated with either a human or an animal origin. Neither S type nor biotype appeared to correlate with inhibitor production.