Effects of organic acids, phytogenic, probiotics and microminerals on the health of broilers as an alternative to antibiotics

• Grant number: 21/14555-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: March 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: José Roberto Sartori
• Grantee: Amanda Bertazzoni Cirino
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In poultry farming, some antibiotics are used as feed additives, aiming to reduce mortality and improve animal production, being used in the prevention of infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. However, its prolonged use can pose risks to the health of consumers, whereas, is possible to find antibiotic residues in products of animal origin intended for consumption by the population, or even cross-resistance with other antimicrobials used in human or animal therapy. Therefore, are necessary studies of new growth-promoting additives that favor the intestinal microbiota to replace the use of antibiotics. Thus, this research will be conducted to evaluate the effect of organic acids, probiotics, photogenic, and microminerals associated or not. Thereunto, 2,160 one-day-old male chicks of the Cobb500 lineage will be housed and distributed in a completely randomized design with 8 treatments and 9 replicates, totaling 72 pens with 30 birds each. The treatments will be T1: Negative Control (NC), Basal ration (RB) without the inclusion of additives or antibiotics; T2: positive control (PC), RB+ antibiotic (Halquinol 60%); T3: RB+ short-chain fatty acids+ medium-chain fatty acid +phytogenic; T4: RB+ short-chain fatty acids+ medium-chain fatty acid +phytogenic+ probiotic Bacillus subtilis; T5: RB+ short-chain fatty acids+ photogenic; T6: RB+ short-chain fatty acids+ photogenic; T7: RB+ photogenic; T8: RB+ copper. At 21 and 42 days of age, birds will be sampled and 4 mL of blood from 9 birds/treatment will be collected, one per box, through the brachial vein to assess the serum biochemical profile of cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides, glucose, AST and ALT; and, these birds will be sacrificed to obtain the relative weight of the organs. At 42 days, blood collection for white blood cell count will also be performed. (AU)