<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This experiment aimed to investigate the effect of sea buckthorn meal alone and in combination with bilberry leaves on growth performance, health status and intestinal microflora in broiler chickens. A total of 90 healthy 1-day-old Cobb 500 broilers were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups and housed in digestibility cages under controlled environmental conditions. The dietary treatments included a basal diet (T0), a basal diet +1% sea buckthorn meal (T1) and a basal diet + 1% sea buckthorn meal and bilberry leaves (T2). The results showed that experimental diets did not influenced the growth performance. At 42 d, T2 had the highest serum iron level among the three groups. Compared to T0, T1 and T2 significantly reduced <italic>Enterobacteriaceae, E.coli</italic> and staphylococci in the cecal and intestinal contents and improved the lactobacilli populations number. The most effective way to reduce the number of harmful bacteria in the cecal content was through the diet that contained sea buckthorn meal alone. In conclusion, adding sea buckthorn meal in the diet of broiler chickens can be an effective solution to promote a healthy gut microflora. This aligns with the current strategy of reducing agro-industrial food waste by repurposing it in other industries.</p>
</abstract>

This experiment aimed to investigate the effect of sea buckthorn meal alone and in combination with bilberry leaves on growth performance, health status and intestinal microflora in broiler chickens. A total of 90 healthy 1-day-old Cobb 500 broilers were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups and housed in digestibility cages under controlled environmental conditions. The dietary treatments included a basal diet (T0), a basal diet +1% sea buckthorn meal (T1) and a basal diet + 1% sea buckthorn meal and bilberry leaves (T2). The results showed that experimental diets did not influenced the growth performance. At 42 d, T2 had the highest serum iron level among the three groups. Compared to T0, T1 and T2 significantly reduced Enterobacteriaceae, E.coli and staphylococci in the cecal and intestinal contents and improved the lactobacilli populations number. The most effective way to reduce the number of harmful bacteria in the cecal content was through the diet that contained sea buckthorn meal alone. In conclusion, adding sea buckthorn meal in the diet of broiler chickens can be an effective solution to promote a healthy gut microflora. This aligns with the current strategy of reducing agro-industrial food waste by repurposing it in other industries.

Dietary supplementation with sea buckthorn meal alone and in combination with bilberry leaves: assessment of growth performance, health status and intestinal microflora in broiler chickens

Archiva Zootechnica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This experiment aimed to investigate the effect of sea buckthorn meal alone and in combination with bilberry leaves on growth performance, health status and...

Dietary supplementation with sea buckthorn meal alone and in combination with bilberry leaves: assessment of growth performance, health status and intestinal microflora in broiler chickens

Published Online: Jun 24, 2024

Page range: 131 - 145

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/azibna-2024-0009

Keywords
sea buckthorn meal, bilberry leaves, performance, health status, intestinal microflora

© 2024 Mihaela Saracila et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Dietary supplementation with sea buckthorn meal alone and in combination with bilberry leaves: assessment of growth performance, health status and intestinal microflora in broiler chickens

Published Online: Jun 24, 2024

Page range: 131 - 145

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/azibna-2024-0009

Keywordssea buckthorn meal, bilberry leaves, performance, health status, intestinal microflora

© 2024 Mihaela Saracila et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
sea buckthorn meal, bilberry leaves, performance, health status, intestinal microflora