Feeding graded levels of dried Sea buckthorn (Hippophaes rhamnoides) berries to broiler chickens |
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| Authors: | Vasil Pirgozliev Stephen C Mansbridge Izzy M Whiting Stephen P Rose Kristina Kljak Amy E Johnson Falko Drijfhout Sylwia Orczewska-Dudek Atanas G Atanasov Teodora Mihova |
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| Institution: | 1. National Institute of Poultry Husbandry, Harper Adams University, Shropshire, UK;2. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia;3. Keele University, Staffordshire, UK;4. National Research Institute of Animal Production, Morawica, Poland;5. Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital Health and Patient Safety, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;6. Research Institute of Mountain Stockbreeding and Agriculture, Troyan, Bulgaria |
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| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to assess the effects of graded levels (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 g/kg) of dry Sea buckthorn (SB) berries on growth performance, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, jejunal histomorphology, bird antioxidant status and caecal short-chain fatty acid concentration when fed to female Ross 308 broiler chickens. In addition, expression of cytokine biomarker genes in the jejunum was evaluated. The five experimental diets were fed from 7 to 21 days age to 8 pens (two birds in each) following randomisation. Feeding SB did not influence bird growth performance (p > .05). There was a linear decrease in butyric, acetic and valeric acid concentrations in caecal digesta (p < .05) and a decrease (p < .05) in crypt depth. The expression of IFNG and CD40LG responded quadratically (p < .05), peaking at 6–9 g/kg dietary inclusion of SB, respectively. Other studied variables were not affected by dietary SB inclusion (p > .05). Feeding dry SB berries up to 12 g/kg of diet did not improve the zootechnical variables of healthy commercial-strain broilers in this study. |
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| Keywords: | broiler chicken gene expression gut health Sea buckthorn |
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