Supplement of probiotics improves the meat output and quality of near maturity yellow-feathered broilers

Abstract

To investigate effects of Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus subtilis as feed additives on the growth performance of near maturity yellow-feathered broilers. A total of 75 100-day-old hens were randomly divided into five groups. 1% of L.plantarum(P-group), B.subtilis (B-group), a 1:1 mixture of both strains(PB-group), or commercial probiotic production（M-group）were added into the drinking water at a concentration of 1.5x109 cfu/mL respectively. The control group was fed basal diet. Our results showed that L.plantarum could increase the intestinal enzyme activity of broilers, while decreasing the plasma MDA content, increasing the ALB and TP content, decreasing the plasma AST content, increasing the concentrations of plasma IgA and CD8 molecules, improving the jejunum structure. Meanwhile, B.subtilis increased the concentration of plasma AST and CD8 molecules of broilers. Additionally, B.subtilis also increases the plasma GSH-Px content, but not affecting the plasma biochemical indexes. And increases the plasma IgG and GSH-Px contents and the VCR ratio also improved in M-group. Additionally, the methionine content in thoracic muscle was increased in all groups. But only adding probiotics groups increase the relative abundance of broiler intestinal phylum Synechococcus and Phylum Firmicutes while decreasing the relative abundance of Enterococcus spp. Our results showed that adding probiotics could improve the meat output and quality. It might also be necessary to optimize the feeding conditions by selecting specific strains according to different effects of those probiotics, and to evaluate the best viable number of probiotics which survives in broiler guts to balance the cost and the effort.

Different Concentrations of Probiotic Pediococcus pentosaceus GT001 on Growth Performance, Antioxidant Capacity, Immune Function, Intestinal Microflora and Histomorphology of Broiler Chickens

“…This indicates that the addition of probiotics in chicken diets effectively increases intestinal enzyme activities and improves nutrient uptake by broiler chickens [32].…”

“…The positive outcomes of probiotics can be attributed to their numerous advantageous traits, and they have been suggested as a feasible substitute for antibiotics, particularly considering the current unregulated usage of antibiotics [31]. Particularly during development, the intestinal enzyme activity of the birds is crucial to the digestion and absorption of nutrients [32]. Probiotics have been shown by Wang et al [33] to considerably raise the intestinal lipase activity of broiler chickens when added to their diet.…”

“…Antioxidant capacity is considered an important indicator of the bird's immune function and for evaluating the oxidative status of animals [32,36]. The levels of MDA, SOD, GSH-Px and T-AOC are all important indicators which correlate to antioxidant capacities [27].…”

“…The results agree with Bai et al [51], who reported that probiotics increased the serum IgA and IgG concentrations of broiler chickens. According to Peng et al [32], the immune capacity of the body can be reflected by the level of these immunoglobulins in plasma. This indicates that P. pentosaceus GT001 is important in raising the immunoglobulins in plasma and building the immune responses of the birds.…”