• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.3_spc
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• pp.434-442
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• 2021

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the influence of dietary flavonoids on the growth performance, blood and intestinal profiles, and carcass characteristics of broilers by employing a meta-analysis method. Methods: A database was built from published studies which have reported on the addition of various levels of flavonoids from herbs into broiler diets and then monitored growth performance, blood constituents, carcass proportion and small intestinal morphology. A total of 42 articles were integrated into the database. Several forms of flavonoids in herbs were applied in the form of unextracted and crude extracts. The database compiled was statistically analyzed using mixed model methodology. Different studies were considered as random effects, and the doses of flavonoids were treated as fixed effects. The model statistics used were the p-values and the Akaike information criterion. The significance of an effect was stated when its p-value was <0.05. Results: Dietary flavonoids increased (quadratic pattern; p<0.05) the average daily gain of broilers in the finisher phase. There was a reduction (p<0.01) in the feed conversion ratio of the broilers both in the starter (linear pattern) and finisher phases (quadratic pattern). The mortality rate tended to decrease linearly (p<0.1) with the addition of flavonoids, while the carcass parameter was generally not influenced. A reduction (p<0.001) in cholesterol and malondialdehyde concentrations (both linearly) was observed, while super oxide dismutase activity increased linearly (p<0.001). Increasing the dose of flavonoids increased (p<0.01) the villus height (VH) and villus height and crypt depth (VH:CD) ratio (p<0.05) in the duodenum. Similarly, the VH:CD ratio was elevated (p<0.001) in the jejunum following flavonoid supplementation. Conclusion: Increasing levels of flavonoids in broilers diet leads to an improvement in growth performance, blood constituents, carcass composition and small intestinal morphology.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.513-518
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• 2017

Soybean, one of most widely used swine feed component in the world, contains non-starch polysaccharides (NSP). The digestive system of weaned pigs is not yet fully developed, and thus weaned pigs cannot easily digest diets based on corn and soybean meal. Dietary exogenous enzymes supplementation has been intensively investigated to assist digestion of anti-nutritional factors, such as NSP. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary enzyme cocktail on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility of weaned pigs. A total 36 weaned pigs ($5.92{\pm}0.48kg\;BW$; 28 d old) were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments (3 pigs/pen, 6 replicates/treatment) in a randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments were a typical diet based on corn and soybean meal (CON) and CON with 0.05% enzyme cocktail (Cocktail; mixture of xylanase, ${\alpha}-amylase$, protease, ${\beta}-glucanase$, and pectinase). Pigs were fed their respective diets for 6 wk. Growth performance, morphology of ileum, apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter, crude protein, and energy of weaned pigs were measured. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed for growth performance for the duration of the experimental period, and morphology of ileum, and nutrient digestibility between CON and Cocktail treatment groups. Therefore, the results from the current study indicated that enzyme cocktail supplementation in diets had no influence on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility of weaned pigs.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.141-149
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• 2018

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of multi-enzyme on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility of weaned pigs. A total 36 weaned pigs ($5.92{\pm}0.48kg\;BW$; 28 d old) were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments (3 pigs/pen, 6 replicates/treatment) in a randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments were a typical diet based on corn and soybean meal (CON) and CON with 0.1% multi-enzyme (Multi; mixture of ${\beta}-mannanase$, xylanase, ${\alpha}-amylase$, protease, ${\beta}-glucanase$, and pectinase). Pigs were fed their respective diets for 6 wk. Measurements were growth performance, morphology of ileum, apparent ileal digestibility and apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and energy of weaned pigs. There were no significant differences on growth performance during overall experimental period. No differences were found for the morphology of ileum and nutrient digestibility between CON and Multi groups. Therefore, the results in the current study indicated that multi-enzyme supplementation in diets had no effects on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility of weaned pigs.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.640-653
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• 2022

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most common mycotoxin contaminant of cereal-based food and animal feed. The toxicity of DON is very low compared to that of other toxins; however, the most prominent signs of DON exposure include inappetence and body weight loss, which causes considerable economic losses in the livestock industry. This review summarizes critical studies on biological DON mycotoxin mitigation strategies and the respective in vitro and in vivo intestinal effects. Focus areas include growth performance, gut health in terms of intestinal histomorphology, epithelial barrier functions, the intestinal immune system and microflora, and short-chain fatty acid production in the intestines. In addition, DON detoxification and modulation of these parameters, through biological supplements, are discussed. Biological detoxification of DON using microorganisms can attenuate DON toxicity by modulating gut microbiota and improving gut health with or without influencing the growth performance of pigs. However, the use of microorganisms as feed additives to livestock for mycotoxins detoxification needs more research before commercial use.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.198-205
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• 2017

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of single or/and double strains of probiotic supplement on feed efficiency, growth performance, and microbial population in distal gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of weaning rabbits. Methods: Sixty-four weaning (28 days old) New Zealand White rabbits were randomly distributed into four groups with treatments including: basal diet without probiotic supplement (control) or supplemented as follows: $1{\times}10^6cfu/g$ B. subtilis (BS group), $1{\times}10^7cfu/g$ L. acidophilus (LA group), or $0.5{\times}10^6cfu/g$ B. subtilis plus $0.5{\times}10^7cfu/g$ L. acidophilus (BL group). During the research, the male and female rabbits were fed separately. Body weight of the rabbits was recorded at 28, 42, and 70 d of age. Results: There was an increase (p<0.05) in body weight gain for the LA group at 42 d. Rabbits fed BL responsed with a greater growth (p<0.05) and better feed conversion ratio (p<0.05) than those fed with no probiotic. Digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and gross energy were higher (p<0.05) in LA and BL groups than those in the control group. Male rabbits had higher (p<0.05) Bacilli spp. and Coliformis spp. in the ileum than female rabbits. Rabbits supplemented with BS had greater (p<0.05) numbers of bacilli in all intestinal segments than those receiving no probiotic, whereas intestinal Lactobacilli populations were greater (p<0.001) in the LA and BL diets compared to control. Average intestinal coliform populations were lowest (p<0.05) in the rabbits supplemented with LA as compared to those fed the control and BS. Conclusion: Supplementation of L. acidophilus alone or in combination with B. subtilis at a half of dose could enhance number of gut beneficial bacteria populations, nutrient digestibility, cecal fermentation, feed efficiency, and growth performance, but rabbits receiving only B. subtilis alone were not different from the controls without probiotic.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 1997

Various fractions of apple fibers such as crude pulp, total dietary fiber, soluble dietary fiber, and insoluble dietary fiber were prepared and added to the proteose peptone-yeast extract-fildes (PYF) media to see their effects on the growth of type cultures of intestinal bacteria. Most microbes tested in this experiment grew well in PYF media with the soluble dietary fiber of apple than with the insoluble dietary fiber. Especially Bifidobacterium species such as B. adolescentis, B. animalis, B. infantis, B. longum, B. thermophilum showed higher growth in PYF media containing the soluble dietary fiber than other fiber fractions. However, pectin-added media didn't promote the growth of most microbes used in the experiment. In the in vitro mixed culture using rat feces as starter, the addition of the soluble dietary fiber or pectin to the basal medium showed larger proportion of Bifidobacterium species in total bacteria than that of glucose.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.387-392
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• 2010

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of fermented spent mushroom substrate (FSMS) on growth performance, blood profile, intestinal microflora and ammonia gas production of feces in broiler chickens. A total of three hundred sixty, 1-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross) were randomly divided into 3 groups with 6 replicates of 20 birds each. The treatments were control (free FSMS), 15% FSMS (basal diet with 15% FSMS) and 30% FSMS (basal diet with 30% FSMS). The final body weight and body weight gains were slightly improved in 30% FSMS than control (P<0.05). Feed intake and feed conversion were significantly improved as compared to those of the control groups. The Leukocytes of blood serum in FSMS groups were significantly decreased as compared to those of control groups. There are no significant differences among the groups in the contents of albumin (ALB), total cholesterol (TCHO), glucose (GLU), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in blood serum. The content of total glucose (TG) in 30% FSMS containing dietary groups was significantly decreased as compared to that of the control groups. The content of HDLC in 30% FSMS containing dietary groups was significantly increased as compared to that of the control group. The number of lactobacillus in the intestinal microflora were significantly increased in chicks fed FSMS groups. The ammonia gas production in FSMS groups was siginificantly decreased as compard to that the control groups. These results indicated that dietary FSMS exerted growth performance for feeding broiler.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.5
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• 2015

The study was performed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of a lipid-encapsulated Zinc oxide on growth parameters and intestinal mucosal morphology piglets born to Duroc-sired Landrace ${\times}$ Yorkshire dams. Twenty-four 30-day-old piglets weaned at 25 days of age were orally challenged with $5{\times}10^8$ colony forming units of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88 and fed one of the four diets for 7 days: (i) a nursery basal diet containing 100-ppm ZnO (referred to as BASAL), (ii) BASAL supplemented with 120-ppm apramycin (referred to as ANTIBIO), (iii) BASAL with 2,400-ppm ZnO (referred to as HIGH), and BASAL containing 100-ppm lipid-encapsulated ZnO (referred to as LE). All piglets were killed at the end of the experiment for histological examination on the intestine. The results showed that the average daily gain (ADG), the villus height: crypt depth (CD) ratio in the ileum, and the goblet cell density of the villus and crypt in the duodenum, jejunum, and colon were greater in the LE-fed group that those of the BASAL (p < 0.05). Fecal consistency score (FCS) and the CD ratio in the ileum were less in the LE-fed group, compared to the BASAL-fed one (p < 0.05). The effects observed in the LE-fed group were almost equal to those of the HIGH-fed group as well as even superior to those of the ANTIBIO-fed group. Taken together, our results imply that dietary supplementation of 100-ppm lipid-encapsulated ZnO is as effective as that of 2,400-ppm ZnO for promoting growth diarrhea and intestinal morphology caused by ETEC infection.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.380-387
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• 2002

To investigate the effects of xylooligosaccharides on the in vitro growth of intestinal bacteria, various species were cultivated individually on the m-PYF medium containing a carbon source (0.5% w/v) such as xylooligosaccharides, isomaltooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides and sucrose, respectively. The health-promoting microorganisms such as Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus acidophilus grew more effectively by xylooligosaccharides than by other carbon source, though xylooligosaccharides inhibited the growth of Clostridium perfringens, Bacteroides fragilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhumurium. At the mixed culture xylooligosaccharides exerted a preferential stimulatory effects on numbers of the health-promoting microorganisms, while xylooligosaccharides inhibited populations of potential pathogens at relatively low level. Xylooligosaccharides also maintained the acidity of culture with Streptococcus mutans, caries-inducing bacteria, over pH 5.0. These results suggest that xylooligosaccharides selectively promote the growth of the health-promoting microorganisms in human intestine and prevent caries by inhibiting acid production from Streptococcu mutans.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.375-382
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• 2014

The competency of garlic and pennywort to improve broiler chicken growth and influence intestinal microbial communities and fatty acid composition of breast meat were studied. Two hundred forty, "day-old" chicks were randomly allocated to 4 treatment groups consisting of 6 replications of 10 chicks in each pen. The groups were assigned to receive treatment diets as follows: i) basal diet (control), ii) basal diet plus 0.5% garlic powder (GP), iii) basal diet plus 0.5% pennywort powder (PW) and iv) 0.002% virginiamycin (VM). Birds were killed at day 42 and intestinal samples were collected to assess for Lactobacillus and Escherichia coli. The pectoralis profundus from chicken breast samples was obtained from 10 birds from each treatment group on day 42 and frozen at $-20^{\circ}C$ for further analyses. Fatty acid profile of breast muscles was determined using gas liquid chromatography. Feed intake and weight gain of broilers fed with GP, PW, and VM were significantly higher (p<0.05) compared to control. Feeding chicks GP, PW, and VM significantly reduced Escherichia coli count (p<0.05) while Lactobacillus spp count were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the gut when compared to control group on day 42. Supplemented diet containing pennywort increased the C18:3n-3 fatty acid composition of chickens' breast muscle. Garlic and pennywort may be useful in modulating broiler guts as they control the enteropathogens that help to utilize feed efficiently. This subsequently enhances the growth performances of broiler chickens.