Abstract. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of in ovo feeding (IOF) of glutamine on hatchability, development of the gastrointestinal tract, growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens. Fertilized eggs were subjected to injections with glutamine (Gln) (10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 mg dissolved in 0.5 mL of dionized water) on day 7 of incubation. Hatchability, growth performance, carcass characteristics (carcass weight and relative weights of breast, thigh, heart, liver, gizzard, abdominal fat, intestine, pancreas and spleen) and jejunal morphometry (measurement of villus height and width and crypt depth) were determined during the experiment. The weight of newly hatched chickens was significantly greater in groups with Gln injection than in control and sham groups. But IOF caused lower hatchability than in the control group (non-injected eggs) (p < 0.05). Chickens from IOF of Gln showed better weight gain and feed conversion ratio (0–42 days of age), when compared to chickens hatched from control and sham groups. The IOF of Gln significantly increased villus height, villus width and crypt depth at hatch period and villus height at 42 days of age. In addition, carcass weights and relative weights of breast, thigh and gizzard were also markedly increased in chickens treated in ovo with Gln; whereas heart, liver, abdominal fat, intestine, pancreas and spleen were not significantly altered at the end of the experimental period. These data suggest that the IOF of Gln may improve jejunum development, leading to an increased nutrient assimilation and consequently to greater performance in broiler chickens.

No abstract

This study was carried out to determination of in vitro binding capacity of wheat bran, rice bran, and perlite for Mn, Zn, Cu, and Fe. For this reason, wheat bran and rice bran were chemically analysed for moisture, protein, ash, ether extract, total carbohydrate, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, acid detergent lignin, crude fibre, cellulose, hemicelluloses, phytic acid, Non-Fiber Carbohydrate, total dietary fibre, soluble dietary fibre, insoluble dietary fibre, DF + lignin, and endogenous minerals. Mineral binding capacity of wheat bran, rice bran, and perlite for Mn, Zn, Fe, and Cu under sequential simulated physiological conditions of the stomach, small intestine, and colon was investigated and compared. Rice bran showed the highest mineral-binding capacity in small intestine for Mn, Zn, and Cu. Among the minerals, Mn exhibited the lowest percentage of binding under the simulated physiological conditions of the small intestine and the highest percentage of removing occurred in the stomach for all of the treatments. Cereal bran's had an affinity for Cu > Zn > Fe > Mn. The amounts of minerals bound varied among samples. Rice bran showed the highest and perlite had lowest mineral-binding capacity in small intestine for Mn, Zn, and Cu. ARTICLE HISTORY

The aim of present experiment was to investigate the effect of dietary supplemented CCF on body weight, serum glucose and insulin in healthy condition. In present experiment, 36 one-month-old male hamsters (94 +/- 1 g) were divided into four groups; group 1 (control): fed basal diets without fruit supplementation, group 2: fed daily 5 g CCF only at first daily meal, group 3: fed daily 10 g CCF, at first and second daily meals and group 4: fed daily 15 g CCF, at first, second and third daily meals, for 20 days. Dietary CCF caused significant decreases in final body weight. Based on serum biochemical analysis, a significant glucose decrease in groups fed only one supplemented meal and it's correlated with elevation of insulin level. Supplementation of CCF (two or three times daily) was not efficient for more hypoglycemic effect and there was no significant difference with glucose level of control group. Also, there was no any difference between insulin levels of group 2 and 3, whereas there was considerable elevation in insulin level for groups fed CCF in comparison with control rate. It was concluded that supplemented cornelian cherry fruit for one, two or three daily meal can decreases weight gain and for only one daily meal can cause considerable hypoglycemic effect, whereas supplemented for two or three times daily was not more efficient that may be due to glycemic regulation of healthy animals.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of acetic acid, lactic acid, and butyric acid on the production performance, egg parameters (quality and quantity traits), blood and liver serum biochemical parameters and gastrointestinal tract microorganism on female Japanese quails. A total of 640 female Japanese quails aged 35-84 days were housedfor eight treatments with four replicates. They were arranged in completely randomized design (CRD) to evaluate the effects of basal diet (BD) with a supplement of acetic acid (AA), lactic acid (LA) and butyric acid (BA). The performance parameters to study this effect are feed intake, feed conversion ratio, egg traits such as egg weight, egg production, and egg mass along with specific gravity, internal quality unit (IQU), yolk and albumen indexes, and eggshell traits such as weight, thickness, and surface. It also includes blood serum biochemical parameters such as cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, LDL, albumin, globulin, glucose, and gastrointestinal tract microflora (E.Coli and Salmonella). Eight dietary treatments were formulated by addition of organic acids such as BD without organic acids additive, BD with 124 mg/kg AA additive, BD with 104 mg/kg LA additive, BD with 113 mg/kg BA additive, BD with 63.5 mg/kg AA+53.5 mg/kg LA additive, BD with 63.5 mg/kg AA+57 mg/kg BA additive, BD with 53.5 mg/kg LA+57 mg/kg BA additive and BD with 41.6 mg/kg AA+35 mg/kg LA+37 mg/kg BA additive. The results showed that the diets containing BD+LA+BA+AA and BD+AA alone considerably increased feed intake, feed conversion ratio, egg weight, egg production and egg mass (p<0.01). The diets containing BD+AA and BD+LA significantly affected some quality traits such as eggshell thickness, eggshell weight (p<0.01), shell surface, and IQU (p<0.05). The diets containing BD+AA and BD+LA alone increased serum cholesterol, HDL, albumin, globulin and total protein significantly (p<0.01). Moreover, the groups containing BD+AA and BD+LA significantly decreased triglyceride contents in serum (p<0.05). The results showed that the diets containing BD+LA and BD+BA significantly decreased the E.Coli and Salmonella population in the gastrointestinal tract (p<0.01). Based on the experiment, it can beinferred that LA alone, or in combination with other organic acids, improved and showed positive effects on performance and egg traits in female Japanese quail.

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of different dietary supplementation levels of zinc oxide and of an organic acid blend on broiler performance, carcass traits, and serum parameters. A total of 2400 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks, with average initial body weight 44.21±0.19g, was distributed according to a completely randomized design in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement. Six treatments, consisting of diets containing two zinc oxide levels (0 and 0.01% of the diet) and three organic acid blend levels (0, 0.15, and 0.30%) were applied, with eight replicates of 50 birds each. The experimental diets were supplied ad libitum for 42 days. There were significant performance differences among birds fed the different zinc oxide and organic acid blend levels until 42 d of age (p<0.01). The result of this experiment showed that the organic acid blend did not affect feed intake, but zinc oxide increased feed intake. Carcass traits were not influenced by the experimental supplements. Zinc oxide supplementation increased serum alkaline phosphatase level (p<0.01). The organic acid blend reduced serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels (p<0.05). No interactions were found between zinc oxide and the organic acid blend for none of the evaluated parameters. We concluded that zinc oxide and the evaluated organic acid blend improve broiler performance.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of L-glutamine and the synergistic effects between glutamic acid of wheat and glutamine on the performance, carcase characteristics and intestinal morphometry in guinea fowl chickens fed with cornsoybean meal-wheat-based diets. A total of 288 one-day-old guinea fowl chicks (Numida meleagris) were used in a completely randomised design with six treatments, six replicates and 8 male chickens per replicate. The treatments were as follows: (1) corn-soybean meal-based diet (control), (2) corn-soybean meal-wheat-based diet, (3) treatment 1 containing 0.5% L-glutamine, (4) treatment 1 containing 1% L-glutamine, (5) treatment 2 containing 0.5% L-glutamine and (6) treatment 2 containing 1% L-glutamine. The results showed that the body weight gain (BWG) was higher in glutamine-supplemented treatments and the best feed conversion ratio (FCR) was observed in treatment 2 with 0.5% glutamine supplementation (p < .05). The chicks fed by diets containing glutamine supplement showed a higher live weight and percentage of breast, thigh and wings compared to glutamine-free diets, whereas the highest percentage of liver and heart observed in treatment 1 and the highest percentage of gizzard in treatments 1 and 2 (p < .05). The length and the width of villi and crypt depth in all three parts of the small intestine (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) were higher in glutamine-based treatments compared to glutaminefree treatments (p < .05). Also, the addition of wheat to diet had no negative effects on the mentioned parameters; moreover, the 0.5% L-glutamine supplement in wheat-corn-soybean diets improved performance, carcase characteristics and intestinal morphometry.

No abstract