Systematic review and meta-analysis of phytogenic additives as alternative to antibiotics in diets for broiler chickens

• Grant number: 17/09358-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: August 01, 2017 - July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo Do Valle Polycarpo
• Grantee: Gustavo Do Valle Polycarpo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Fábio Sampaio Rosas ; Gabriela Siqueira Peres ; Valquíria Cação Cruz-Polycarpo ; Victor Hugo Alderenike Amaral

Abstract

Phytogenic additives are used in broiler nutrition to control enteric problems caused by the ban of antibiotics. However, researches that study phytotherapics present conflicting results, often due to the particular conditions of each experiment was conducted. In the literature, there are many evaluations of antimicrobial additives conducted without presence of microbial challenge, or conducted under unknown microbiological challenge conditions. The amount of information, plus to the often-contradictory results, causes inconclusive discussions and polemics on the subject. Meta-analytic approaches are characterized as a viable tool in these cases, considering the difference between the studies with pre-established criteria, changing the focus, the direction and magnitude of the effects. Therefore, the summarization and analyzes of the literature data through meta-analysis becomes crucial and necessary. The aim of this project will be to develop a meta-analysis to study the effect of phytogenic additives as an alternative to antibiotics on the broilers performance. For this, a systematic review then a quantitative analysis with criteria based on statistical concepts applied to animal experimentation will be performed. The search of the works will be carried out in digital form through the words broiler, phytogenic and performance, and their synonyms, which will also be tested in portuguese and spanish. Additionally, the search for works will be restricted to scientific articles published in the last 20 years. Experts in poultry nutrition area will perform the data filtering in pairs. The data will be systematized on database and coded for statistical analysis. Graphic studies will be conducted in the preliminary stages to assess the data distribution and assist in the choice of the statistical model. Residual and homogeneity variations will be checked and corrected if necessary. The inferences of qualitative factors will be verified by analysis of variance and quantitative factors through regressions. (AU)