ABSTRACT
1. The present study was designed to evaluate purified bee venom (BV) as an alternative to antibiotics in broiler chickens. The experimental treatment diets were formulated by adding BV into a maize-soybean meal-based diet to give 0, 10, 50, 100, and 500 µg BV per kg of diet. 2. Dietary BV quadratically improved (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio and increased body weight gain at 1-21 d as level in diet increased. Higher BV levels lowered relative weight of spleen (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05), bursa of Fabricius (quadratic, P < 0.05), and liver (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) at 21 d of age. Relative breast meat yields were increased quadratically at 21 d and linearly at 35 d with supplementation levels. Dietary BV increased (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) lightness (L*) value for meat at 21 d, decreased (linear, P < 0.05) ileal villus height and narrowed (quadratic, P < 0.05) width. 3. Dietary BV inclusion linearly increased the concentration of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) on ileal mucosa at 21 d and decreased (quadratic, P < 0.05) nitric oxide contents in serum samples at 21 d and 35 d. Total short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in caecal digesta were reduced with increasing venom in diets at 21 d of age. None of the serum parameters except for creatinine was affected by dietary BV. 4. It was concluded that dietary BV exhibited wide range of in vivo biological properties in broiler chickens and could be incorporated into feed to promote growth and animal health.
Subject(s)
Bee Venoms/metabolism , Chickens/physiology , Gastrointestinal Tract/drug effects , Meat/analysis , Animal Feed/analysis , Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena/drug effects , Animals , Avian Proteins/metabolism , Bee Venoms/administration & dosage , Blood Chemical Analysis/veterinary , Chickens/growth & development , Diet/veterinary , Dietary Supplements/analysis , Fatty Acids, Volatile/metabolism , Gastrointestinal Tract/anatomy & histology , Gastrointestinal Tract/metabolism , Immunoglobulin A, Secretory/metabolism , Male , Organ Size/drug effects , Random AllocationABSTRACT
The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of stocking density, fumonisin B1 (FB), and mycotoxin binder (TB) on growth performance, bone quality, physiological stress indicators, and gut health in broiler chickens. Day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks (n = 1,440/experiment) were randomly allocated to 72 floor pens in a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, using 3 stocking densities (12.5 birds/m2 [HSD], 10 birds/m2 [MSD], or 7.5 birds/m2 [LSD]), 2 levels of purified FB (0 or 10 ppm), and 2 levels of TB (0 or 0.2%). Each treatment had 6 replicates (n = 6/treatment) and experiments lasted 34 days. All data were analyzed using 3-way ANOVA with stocking density level, FB, and TB as main factors. Body weight gain and feed intake were lower (P < 0.05) in broilers kept at HSD and MSD compared to LSD-housed counterparts. Birds fed an FB-contaminated diet exhibited a higher feed-to-gain ratio compared with those fed an FB-free diet (P < 0.05). None of the treatments affected intestinal morphology or ileal secretory immunoglobulin A levels. Stocking density affected tibia breaking strength (P < 0.05), which was lower in chickens housed at HSD compared with LSD-housed chickens. The heterophil/lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio) was elevated (P < 0.05) in HSD and MSD groups compared with the LSD group. Serum nitric oxide (NO) levels were elevated (P < 0.05) in chickens fed the FB-contaminated diet compared with the control diet-fed counterparts. Significant interaction (P < 0.05) between FB and TB on serum NO levels was noted. In summary, increasing stocking density lowered growth performance and bone quality, but increased the H/L ratio. Dietary TB did not affect FB-induced increases in the feed-to-gain ratio. No interaction was observed between stocking density and FB for the measured variables.
