The In Ovo Feeding Administration (Gallus Gallus)—An Emerging In Vivo Approach to Assess Bioactive Compounds with Potential Nutritional Benefits

Abstract

In recent years, the in ovo feeding in fertilized broiler (Gallus gallus) eggs approach was further developed and currently is widely applied in the evaluation process of the effects of functional foods (primarily plant origin compounds) on the functionality of the intestinal brush border membrane, as well as potential prebiotic properties and interactions with the intestinal microbial populations. This review collates the information of potential nutrients and their effects on the mineral absorption, gut development, brush border membrane functionality, and immune system. In addition, the advantages and limitations of the in ovo feeding method in the assessment of potential prebiotic effects of plant origin compounds is discussed.

Alterations in the Intestinal Morphology, Gut Microbiota, and Trace Mineral Status Following Intra-Amniotic Administration (Gallus gallus) of Teff (Eragrostis tef) Seed Extracts

“…Taken as a whole, this data demonstrates that the intra-amniotic administration of teff extract can modulate brush border membrane development and functionality. These results are in accordance with other intra amniotic administration trials that used isolated prebiotic polysaccharide compounds [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 32 ].…”

“…This fermentation leads to the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) [ 11 ]. SCFAs inhibit the growth of harmful pathogens, decrease intestinal pH, upregulate epithelial cell differentiation, thus increasing villus surface area, and upregulate brush-border membrane (BBM) gene expression [ 12 ]. In sum, these effects enhance gut mineral bioavailability and absorption [ 6 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

“…Given the nutritional advantages of teff, especially its high concentration of trace minerals, it is important to evaluate other intrinsic factors that influence absorption and bioavailability. Therefore, using the validated, well-established Gallus gallus in vivo model [ 6 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 19 , 20 ], we sought to assess the effects of the intra-amniotic administration of teff seed extracts on serum and tissue Fe and Zn status, as well as on multiple parameters that influence trace mineral absorption and bioavailability, i.e., intrinsic phytate and polyphenolic concentration, enterocyte gene expression of various trace mineral dependent proteins, and brush border membrane morphology. Additionally, 16S rRNA gene sequencing of cecal contents was utilized to analyze potential alterations in intestinal microbiota structure and function from teff extracts.…”

Intestinal Pioneer Colonizers as Drivers of Ileal Microbial Composition and Diversity of Broiler Chickens

“…Recently, the emergence of in ovo techniques made it possible to manipulate the intestinal bacteria colonization before chicks have even been hatched or exposed to farm environments (Pedroso et al, 2016;Roto et al, 2016;Teague et al, 2017;Hou and Tako, 2018). Our lab has previously used the in ovo technique as an experimental model to address how the early intestinal colonization shapes the microbiome composition in hatching chicks (Wilson et al, 2019).…”

Nicotianamine-chelated iron positively affects iron status, intestinal morphology and microbial populations in vivo (Gallus gallus)

“…serum, and all animal tissues was determined by nitric/perchloric acid digestion as previously described 38 followed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) using a Thermo iCAP 6500 series (Thermo Jarrell Ash Corp., Franklin, MA, USA). Fe-NA solution (Fe-NA); (6) 'Control' white flour extract (C WF); (7) 'Biofortified' white flour extract (B WF) and eggs were subsequently incubated for four days until hatch as described in 79,80 . Chicks were euthanized by CO 2 exposure after hatching and all tissues were collected.…”