Influence of silver nanoparticles on growth and health of broiler chickens after infection with Campylobacter jejuni

Abstract

BackgroundSilver nanoparticles (AgNP) have gained much attention in recent years due to their biomedical applications, especially as antimicrobial agents. AgNP may be used in poultry production as an alternative to the use of antibiotic growth promoter. However, little is known about the impact of oral administration of AgNP on the gut microbiota and the immune system. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of AgNP on growth, hematological and immunological profile as well as intestinal microbial composition in broilers challenged with Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni).ResultsAgNP did not affect the intestinal microbial profile of birds. The body weight gain and the relative weights of bursa and spleen were reduced when supplemented with AgNP. There was no difference with respect to packed cell volume. However, the plasma concentrations of IgG and IgM were lower in birds receiving AgNP compared to the non-supplemented control group. The expression of TNF-α and NF-kB at mRNA level was significantly higher in birds receiving AgNP.ConclusionsThe application of AgNP via the drinking water in the concentration of 50 ppm reduced broiler growth, impaired immune functions and had no antibacterial effect on different intestinal bacterial groups, which may limit the applicability of AgNP against C. jejuni in broiler chickens.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1323-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Ruminal fermentation, microbial population and lipid metabolism in gastrointestinal nematode-infected lambs fed a diet supplemented with herbal mixtures

“…The infection also did not decrease body weight gain in lambs [17]. It has been recognized that the nematode infection induces the production of reactive oxygen, causing oxidative stress in the hosts [67,68]. The concentration of TBARS in meat in the present study showed a constant increase during storage, which indicated that secondary products of lipid oxidation were accumulated during storage.…”

A study on heavy metal sorption properties of intestinal microbiota in vitro

“…P. fluorescens strain accumulates copper ions in quantities up to 500 mg/g of dry biomass [9], and the strain of P. mendocina sorbs copper in quantities up to 558 mg/g of dry biomass and cadmium to 0.75 mg/g of dry biomass [10]. P. pseudoalcaligenes reasonably well accumulates lead and copper ions, their number reach 271.7 mg/g and 46.8 mg/g of dry biomass, respectively [11,12].…”

Evaluation of a pressure plate for detection of hind limb lameness in cats

“…Lameness in dogs has been studied more extensively [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. Compensatory mechanisms have been demonstrated for forelimb [27][28][29] and hind limb [30][31][32][33][34] lameness in canines. Dogs will shift the load mainly to the contralateral hind limb and not to the forelimbs when attempting to unload an injured hind limb.…”

“…Gait analysis seems to be the gold standard for detection of lameness in dogs [1,3,[26][27][28][29][30][32][33][34][35][36]. Nevertheless, studies have shown that not all dogs clinically assumed to be lame show changes on the force plate [31,42].…”