Assessment of a probiotic Containing Bacillus Subtilis on the Performance and Gut Health of Laying Japanese Quails (Coturnix Coturnix Japonica)

Abstract

Keywords Japanese quails, egg production, gut health, immune response. ABStRACtThe present study was carried out to determine the effects of the inclusion of a spore-forming probiotic (Bacillus subtilis) in laying Japanese quail diets as an alternative to growth-promoting antibiotics to help produce healthy eggs and meat. This experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design with three treatments (control, 0.05% bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD), or 0.1% Bacillus subtilis) of five replicates of 11 quails each. Feed intake and egg production were recorded daily on cage basis. Body weight was determined at the beginning and end of the trial (36 and 42 weeks). At the end of the experiment (42 weeks), antibodies against Newcastle disease and avian influenza, egg components, Haugh units, eggshell quality and breaking strength, blood parameters, cecal microbial population, villus length, and crypt depth were measured. The dietary inclusion of Bacillus subtilis and BMD significantly (p≤0.05) increased egg production and egg weight; however, eggshell thickness and breaking strength, Haugh units, and eggshell percentages were not affected. The dietary addition of both products significantly (p≤0.05) decreased plasma cholesterol levels and increased LDL levels, as well as antibody levels against Newcastle disease and avian influenza (p≤0.01). In birds fed Bacillus subtilis and BMD, crypt depth was reduced, but villus height and villus to crypt ratio were significantly increased (p≤0.001) compared with those fed the basal diet. Cecal coliforms, E. coli, and Salmonella counts were reduced (p≤0.01) in quails fed the diets containing Bacillus subtilis and BMD compared those quails fed the non-supplemented diet. The results of this study demonstrated that in absence of AGPs, the inclusion of a spore-forming probiotic partially improves the performance of laying quails.

Effects of a probiotic containing Bacillus subtilis on the gut microflora, yolk quality and blood lipid concentrations of laying Pharaon quails

“…Some differences between control and test groups were substantial but statistically insignificant, conceivably owing to the dependence of P values on sample sizes (Sullivan and Feinn, 2012), which were rather small in this study. However, there was a declining trend in the levels of T-CHOL and TG in the birds fed with a probiotic containing B. subtilis, which is consistent with the observations of Mahdavi et al (2005), Li et al (2011a) and Manafi et al (2016).…”

Cholesterol-lowering activity of lactic acid bacteria and yeast when used as probiotics in laying quail (Coturnix coturnix Japonica)

“…In our previous in vitro studies, L. plantarum (Julendra et al, 2017) or S. cerevisiae (Istiqomah et al, 2018) as probiotics had been shown to possess cholesterol-lowering activity. The positive impact of probiotics on the performance of the laying quail was previously reported by several studies (Hosseini, 2011;Guclu, 2011;Manafi et al, 2016;Siadati et al, 2018). Kalsum et al (2012) reported that administration of L. fermentum did not influence egg quality parameters and egg weight, but significantly improved total egg production and lowered cholesterol content in egg yolk.…”

“…This finding was accordance to Kalsum et al (2012) who reported that administration of L. fermentum did not influence egg quality parameters (haugh unit, % egg albumen, % egg yolk and egg shell thickness) and egg weight. Manafi et al (2016) stated that the dietary inclusion of B. subtilis and BMD were not effecting the eggshell characteristics i.e., thickness, breaking strength, percentages, and also haugh unit. Zhong et al (2016) stated that supplementation of 0.3% yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus M3 strain on laying hen diet resulted in significant differences in the eggs nutrient composition (increase protein, crude fat level, and dry matter), weights, shell strength, albumen height, and haugh unit.…”

“…Hosseini (2011) reported a significant improvement in body weight, weight gain, and feed consumption throughout the experiment. Manafi et al (2016) stated that the dietary addition of B. subtilis and BMD increased egg production and egg weight. Siadati et al (2018) reported that administration of native Lactobacillus strains (50 g/ton) had no significant effect on egg weight and feed intake, whereas improved feed conversion ratio (FCR), egg production, and egg mass during the laying period.…”

Arthrospira (Spirulina) Platensis Can Be Considered as a Probiotic Alternative to Reduce Heat Stress in Laying Japanese Quails

“…Researchers found that feeding diets containing Bacillus subtilis decreased cecal E. coli count in Japanese quails (Manafi et al, 2016). Qureshi et al (1996) reported that SP had antimicrobial activity that improved chicken defence system.It was documented that the extract of SP was able to inhibit the growth of Klebsiellapneumoniae, Shigellashigae, E. coli, S. aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi (Mala et al, 2009).The antibacterial activity of the algae extract could be due to the presence of different chemicals such as 1-Octadecene, 1-Heptadeceane (Mishra & Sree 2007), flavonoids, triterpenoids, phenolic compounds, fatty acids (Demule et al, 1996, Lampe et al, 1998, acrylic acid (Pradhan et al, 2014) free hydroxyl group (Yu et al, 2009).…”