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Impact of multi-strain probiotic, citric acid, garlic powder or their combinations on performance, ileal histomorphometry, microbial enumeration and humoral immunity of broiler chickens

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Abstract

Heat stress, one of the critical obstacles to poultry sector in subtropical and tropical countries, reduces performance, immune response, and animal welfare. This study examined the effect of dietary inclusion of probiotic (PRO), citric acid (CIT), garlic powder (GAR) or their combinations on growth, blood constituents, ileal microflora and morphology and humoral immunity of broiler chickens subjected to cyclic heat stress. Four hundred ninety one-day-old Ross-308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 7 groups with 7 replicates of 10 birds each as follows: control (C) group received the basal diet without supplements, PRO, CIT and GAR groups supplemented with 0.5 g kg−1 multi-strain probiotic mixture (MPM), citric acid and garlic powder, respectively. PRO-CIT and PRO-GAR groups treated with 0.5 g kg−1 MPM, and 0.5 g kg−1 citric acid and garlic powder, while CIT-GAR group fed diet with 0.5 g kg−1 of citric acid and garlic powder. Results revealed that dietary supplements and their combinations improved (P < 0.001) growth performance and decreased abdominal fat of heat-stressed birds. Dietary supplements decreased (P < 0.01) serum concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL, while HDL was elevated (P < 0.05). Feed additives reduced (P < 0.01) ileal enumeration of Escherichia coli and total coliform while Lactobacillus count was increased (P < 0.05) only in MPM-enriched groups. Supplementation of these natural products improved (P < 0.01) ileal architecture while humoral immune response was not significantly influenced except antibody titre against Newcastle disease virus which was increased (P < 0.05) in MPM-supplemented groups. Conclusively, addition of the dietary supplements and their combinations, particularly, probiotic and citric acid combination can improve productive performance, and intestinal flora and histomorphometry of broilers exposed to cyclic heat stress.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge their respective universities and institutes for their cooperation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Desert Research Center, Mataria, Cairo, Egypt

    Ahmed M. Elbaz

  2. Biological Applications Department, Nuclear Research Center, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Abu-Zaabal, 13759, Egypt

    Nashaat S. Ibrahim, Noureldeen G. Mohamed & Abdel-Moneim Eid Abdel-Moneim

  3. Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11651, Egypt

    Abdelrazeq M. Shehata

  4. Department of Dairy Science & Food Technology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Abdelrazeq M. Shehata

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  1. Ahmed M. Elbaz
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Elbaz, A.M., Ibrahim, N.S., Shehata, A.M. et al. Impact of multi-strain probiotic, citric acid, garlic powder or their combinations on performance, ileal histomorphometry, microbial enumeration and humoral immunity of broiler chickens. Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 115 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02554-0

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