Effect of organic acids–essential oils blend and oat fiber combination on broiler chicken growth performance, blood parameters, and intestinal health

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of organic acids-essential oils blend with or without oat hulls (OH) on growth performance, organ weights, blood parameters, gut morphology, microbiota, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in broiler chickens. Day-old broiler chickens were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatments consisting of 1) a corn-soybean meal-wheat based diet (BAS), 2) BAS + 0.05% bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD), 3) BAS + protected organic acids-essential oils at 300 g/1,000 kg of feed (OE), and 4) BAS + protected organic acids-essential oils at 300 g/1,000 kg of feed + 3% OH (OEOH), in 8 replicate groups. Feeding was in starter (d 0 to 14), grower (d 14 to 24), and finisher (d 24 to 36) phases. Body weight (BW), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and mortality were determined weekly. On d 36, 8 chickens per treatment were sampled for blood biochemistry, organ weights, cecal SCFA production, and microbiota. Treatments had no effect on FI and FCR at all phases. Both OE and OEOH treatments reduced ( P < 0.001) the body weight gain of birds at the starter phase. Birds fed the OEOH treatment had higher ( P < 0.001) gizzard weight, while those offered the BMD diet showed a tendency ( P = 0.08) to have higher cecal weight. Birds in the OEOH treatment recorded increased ileal villus height and villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, as well as reduced duodenal crypt depth, while birds in the OE treatment had increased jejunal villus height and villus height-to-crypt depth ratio. Both OEOH and OE treatments increased the number of goblet cells produced in the duodenum and jejunum. Treatments had no effect on SCFA concentrations. Birds in the OE treatment recorded the lowest concentration of blood urea ( P = 0.05) and cholesterol ( P < 0.05). Both OE and OEOH treatments increased ( P < 0.05) the relative abundance of potentially beneficial bacteria in the genus Firmicutes_unclassified, Ruminococcus , Turicibacter , and Erysipelotrichaceae_unclassified, while reducing ( P < 0.001) the relative abundance of potentially harmful Coprobacillus . Conclusively, both protected organic acids-essential oils blend and its combination with oat fibers show potential as tools to achieve antibiotics reduction in broiler production.

Microbiota and Transcriptomic Effects of an Essential Oil Blend and Its Delivery Route Compared to an Antibiotic Growth Promoter in Broiler Chickens

“…The positive effect of EO on ceca SCFA concentration could be related to the capacity of their phytogenic formulations to enhance bacteria proliferation in the lower gut. Several variable factors that potentially influence SCFA concentrations in broiler chickens, including the microbiota composition, bird age, and the amount and type of available fermentable substrates, explain the observed results in this study [ 23 , 99 , 100 ].…”

Effects of dietary supplementation with itaconic acid on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, slaughter variables, blood biochemical parameters, and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens

“…With the coming of the antibiotic-free feeding era, it is extremely urgent to seek effective and pollution-free alternatives as to antibiotics in animal production ( Thacker, 2013 ; Mehdi et al, 2018 ; Lopez-Galvez et al, 2021 ). Organic acids have been commonly applied to animal feed due to their beneficial effects, such as antimicrobial activity, enhancement of nutrient digestibility, and improvement of intestinal morphology ( Suiryanrayna and Ramana, 2015 ; Adewole et al, 2021 ). As a renewable organic acid, IA has received increasing attention from researchers due to its multiple biological functions ( Hooftman and O'Neill, 2019 ; Zhu, 2020 ).…”

“…For the growth performance of broiler chickens, previous studies showed that dietary supplementation with 3% citric acid or 0.1% organic acid blends (combinations of citric acid, lactic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, sodium butyrate, and phosphoric acid) increased the ADG and ADFI of broilers and reduced the F/G ratio ( Khosravinia et al, 2015 ; Sabour et al, 2019 ; Emili et al, 2021 ); however, this was not always the case. Several studies also revealed that the addition of 0.03% citric acid blends (combinations of citric acid, fumaric acid, sorbic acid, and malic acid) to diets did not affect weight gain, FI, or F/G ( Yang et al, 2019 ; Adewole et al, 2021 ). Differences in results among these studies may be related to the source, dose, and type of organic acids used in the broiler diets.…”

Essential Oil Delivery Route: Effect on Broiler Chicken’s Growth Performance, Blood Biochemistry, Intestinal Morphology, Immune, and Antioxidant Status

“…The in ovo technology has been recognized to be a means to stimulate the development of the embryonic gastrointestinal tract (GIT) [ 44 ]. The potential of the active ingredients in the EO blend to stimulate the secretion of endogenous digestive enzymes while also ensuring a balanced gut microbial diversity could also have contributed to the observed effect [ 144 , 145 , 146 ]. The antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties of the supplied EO blend also play an important role in gut morphometric development [ 146 , 147 ].…”