Effect of Supplementation of Allium hookeri on Growth Performance and Intestinal Health for Broiler Chickens
2023
Lee, C.W. | Yoon, J.H. | An, S.H. | Cho, I.H. | Kong, C.S.
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Allium hookeri (AH) root on growth performance, serum antioxidant enzyme activity, cecal short-chain fatty acid profiles, and tight junction-related gene expression of broiler chickens. On day 10, 96 birds were allocated to one of two dietary treatments with 6 replicate cages, and 8 birds per cage in a randomized complete block design. The experimental diets consisted of a corn-soybean meal-based control diet and a diet supplemented with 0.3% AH root powder at the expense of the corn in the control diet. The experimental diets were formulated to meet or exceed the nutrients requirements of broilers recommended by Aviagen for each phase (from day 10 to 21 and from day 21 to 28). On day 28, a bird representing the median body weight in each cage was selected, and then blood, cecal digesta, and jejunum tissue samples were collected. No significant differences were observed in body weight gain and feed intake among dietary treatments. However, birds fed the diet containing AH showed a greater gain-to-feed ratio compared to the control group at 21 days of age and throughout the entire experimental period (P<0.05). Serum antioxidant enzyme activity, cecal short-chain fatty acid profiles, and tight junction-related gene expression were not affected by the dietary AH supplementation. Based on the results of the present study, dietary AH supplementation may improve the gain-to-feed ratio, but not gut health markers in broiler chickens from day 10 to 28.
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