A grower broiler experiment (from 14 to 35 days of age) was conducted to study the effect of using two commercial mixtures of organic acids (Galliacid ® and Biacid ® ) to substitute antibiotic growth promoter (Eneramycin ® ) on performance, carcass characteristics and intestinal microflora. 400 (Ross 308) broiler chicks were used. A basal corn-soybean meal diet were formulated and served as a control treatment. The control diet was supplemented with either 0.06% Galliacid, 0.1% Biacid or 0.02% Eneramycin. Birds fed the Galliacid-supplemented diet had 16% (p<0.001) more gain than the control, while those fed the Biacid-or Enramycinsupplemented diets recorded 3 and 5.5% more gain, respectively. Organic acids mixtures and Enramycin supplementation significantly (p<0.001) improved feed conversion ratio. These results indicated that birds fed either organic acid mixtures or Enramycinsupplemented diets utilized feed more efficiently than those fed the control diet. Galliacid significantly (p<0.01) increased dressing percentage and bursa weight (% body weight). No significant differences were detected on liver, spleen and thymus (% body weight) among treatments. Galliacid or Biacid significantly (p<0.001) decreased intestinal Escherichia coli and Salmonella compared to the control and Enramycin-supplemented diets. Dietary Enramycin significantly (p<0.001) decreased Escherichia coli, but had no effect on Salmonella counts. In conclusion, organic acid mixtures are more efficient than antibiotic growth promoter (Enramycin) in improving broiler performance and decreasing intestinal Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., and could be successfully used to substitute antibiotic growth promoters in broiler diets. However, not all of the organic acid mixtures gave the same effect either on performance or intestinal bacterial counts.

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Objective: Free oxygen radicals and proinflammatory cytokines are important causes for brain injury in neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Our objectives were to test the hypothesis that a combination of antioxidants (ascorbic acid) and anti-inflammatory agents (ibuprofen) can ameliorate the brain injury in HIE and improve neurodevelopmental outcomes when given to term infants immediately after birth.Study Design: In a prospective, randomized, double-blinded controlled trial, 60 asphyxiated term infants were assigned to one of two groups, intervention and control. The intervention group (n ¼ 30) received intravenous ascorbic acid and oral ibuprofen for 3 days; and the control group (n ¼ 30) received similar volumes of a placebo. We measured a panel of cytokines at enrollment and administered the treatment drugs within 2 h after birth. Neurological evaluations and developmental screenings were performed for all survivors at 6 months of age.Result: The Intervention and Control groups did not differ in the severity of HIE at enrollment, the concentrations of IL-1b and IL-6, the incidence of mortality (37 vs 33%), the incidence of neurological abnormalities at hospital discharge (47 vs 55%) and the incidence of developmental delay at 6 months of age (32 vs 40%), respectively. None of the observed complications were related to intervention. Serum interleukin (IL)-1b and IL-6 concentrations correlated positively with the severity of HIE at birth (P<0.01), whereas only serum IL-6 correlated with neurodevelopmental outcome at 6 months (P<0.001).Conclusion: Early administration of ascorbic acid and ibuprofen did not affect outcomes in infants with perinatal asphyxia. This study does not explain whether our intervention was not effective in blocking free radicals and inflammatory cytokines, if the dosing and route of administration were inadequate, or if other mediators existed that could have a more powerful role in brain injury during hypoxia-ischemia.

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