BACKGROUND: Trace elements, such as zinc, magnesium and copper, are essential for improving the performance and health of broiler breeders and the development of chicken embryos. These elements are integral to various proteins involved in metabolism, hormone secretion and the immune system, necessitating their inclusion in small amounts in poultry diets.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the optimal level and effect of different zinc sources on performance, egg quality and the immune system of laying hens at the end of the production period.
METHODS: The experiment involved 520 Lohmann LSL laying hens, aged 80 weeks, divided into 13 treatments with 5 replications and 8 birds per replication. The hens were fed diets supplemented with 40, 60 and 80 mg/kg of zinc from various sources: mineral zinc oxide, mineral zinc sulphate, organic zinc chelated with glycine and organic zinc chelated with an organic acid. Key parameters measured included body weight, egg weight and immune response.
RESULTS: The basal diet contained 63.58 mg/kg of zinc, with the requirement per the Lohmann LSL guideline being 80 mg/kg. Zinc supplementation significantly increased body weight in the second month, with 80 mg/kg being the optimal dose. Zinc oxide notably increased egg weight compared to the control. The hens utilized zinc from all sources, resulting in weight gain and improved parameters such as egg quality. Immune parameters were also positively influenced by zinc supplementation.
CONCLUSIONS: Zinc supplementation at appropriate levels enhances the performance and egg quality of laying hens, particularly at the end of the production period. It improves bioavailability, enriches eggs and mitigates age-related declines in productivity.

BACKGROUND: Phytogenic additives would be helpful to alleviate the adverse effect of Campylobacter jejuni on the performance and physiological responses of broiler chickens.
OBJECTIVE: This experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of Echinacea purpurea (EP) and Thymbra spicata (TS) on the performance, nutrient digestibility, serum biochemistry, intestinal morphology, intestinal microbiota and immune responses of broilers challenged with C. jejuni from 0 to 42 days of age.
METHODS: A total of 240 male broiler chickens were divided into 6 groups and fed various diets: a control diet; the control diet supplemented with EP at 0.25% (EP25) or 0.50% (EP50); the control diet supplemented with TS at 0.25% (TS25) and 0.50% (TS50); or the control diet containing erythromycin at 55 ppm. Chicks were orally challenged with C. jejuni on Days 21 and 23 of age.
RESULTS: EP and TS25 diets enhanced European production efficiency factor, feed conversion ratio and digestibility of dry matter and organic matter. TS25 increased duodenal villous height (VH) and surface area on Day 42 of age. EP25 diet increased ileal VH compared to control and erythromycin diets. Diets containing certain EP25 and TS increased the Bifidobacterium population and decreased C. jejuni population on Day 39 of age. EP50 and TS50 diets increased antibody titration against Newcastle disease virus.
CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, EP and TS dietary supplementation improved performance, microflora, intestinal morphology and immune responses in C. jejuni-challenged broilers.

BACKGROUND: The peripartum period constitutes a delicate physiological moment in mares showing a transient state of oxidative stress. Diet supplementation with antioxidants during pregnancy in women appears to have a beneficial effect on mother and neonate health. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of diet supplementation with a commercial product containing a mix of antioxidants (Oxyliver®, Candioli) on the length of gestation, weight, and haemato-biochemical parameters in Italian Salernitano mares and their newborn foals. Eight late-term pregnant mares were randomly divided into two groups: Antiox group receiving 30 g/day of antioxidants, and Car group receiving the same amount of carrot powder, from 290 to 320 days of gestation. The following parameters were evaluated in mares: weight, colostrum composition, haemato-biochemical parameters, progesterone, and cortisol blood concentrations, along with blood oxidant/antioxidant status. Assessments were conducted at specific time points: immediately before the start of diet supplementation (T0), 15 days after (T1), at the end of diet supplementation (T2), within 8 h after parturition (T3), and 10 days post-partum (T4). Foal parameters such as weight, haemato-biochemical values, cortisol concentration, and blood oxidative stress variables were assessed within 8 h of birth (TF0) and at 10 days of age (TF1).
RESULTS: Pregnancy was shorter in the Antiox group (P < 0.05) compared with the Car group; the foals\' weight increase of group Antiox (40%) was higher (P < 0.05) compared to those of the Car group (28.6%). The colostrum of the Antiox group exhibited higher levels of Brix, total solids, protein, nonfat solids, casein, urea, density, free fatty acids, and glucose, while lower levels of fat and lactose were observed compared to the Car group (P < 0.05). Mares\' serum albumin at T1 and T3, creatinine, glucose, total proteins, total bilirubin, AST, and ALT at T3 were lower in Antiox than in the Car group. No significant differences were found in foals.
CONCLUSIONS: While the limited sample size and the potential variability of evaluated parameters, the observed outcomes suggest that Oxyliver® supplementation in mares might safely decrease gestation length and enhance liver function, thus potentially improving colostrum quality and offspring development.

This study aimed to examine whether dietary supplementation of broiler chickens with turmeric essential could mitigate the effects of cyclic heat stress conditions. Intestinal and immunological parameters and gene expression were evaluated during the grower phase. A total of 320 21-day-old male Cobb 500 broilers were distributed according to a completely randomized design with a 4 (diet) × 2 (environment) factorial arrangement and eight replications of five birds each. Dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet without essential oil (EO, negative control) and three diets containing low (100 mg kg-1), intermediate (200 mg kg-1), or high (300 mg kg-1) levels of turmeric EO. In the heat stress group, dietary supplementation with turmeric EO at 100 and 200 mg kg-1 improved body weight, feed conversion, breast yield, and relative liver weight. These supplementation levels reduced villus width, increased villus/crypt ratio, reduced the H/L ratio, and improved hepatic (HSP70 and SREBP1) and intestinal (OCLN) gene expression in birds under heat stress. These findings support the hypothesis that turmeric EO can be used to improve or restore intestinal integrity, modulate inflammation parameters, and, consequently, enhance the performance of broilers challenged by cyclic heat stress.

A 50:50 blend of two Bacillus subtilis strains positively impacted the productivity of finishing pigs. Given this observed effect, we hypothesized that each strain has distinct effects on weight gain and their influence on gut microbiota. In a 16-week test, 160 pigs were divided into four groups: basal diet, B. subtilis ps4100, B. subtilis ps4060, and 50:50 mixture supplemented. Subsequently, we compared body weight and fecal microbiota. Among the supplements, ps4100, ps4060, and the 50:50 mix yielded respective average daily weight gains (ADG) of 3.6%, 4.6%, and 3.9% by the 6th week. The weight difference was maintained through the 16th week. At the 11th week, the difference in α-diversity among the fecal microbiota was marginal, and 17 of 229 genera showed differential abundance between the control and either of the treatment groups. A total of 12 of the 17 genera, including Lactobacillus, showed differential abundance between the ps4100 and ps4060-fed groups, and only Eubacterium consistently decreased in abundance in both the ps4100 and ps4060 groups. In comparison, microbial diversity was significantly different at the 16th week (p < 0.05), with 96 out of 229 genera exhibiting differential abundance. A total of 42 of the 96 genera exhibited similar patterns in both the ps4100 and ps4060 groups compared to the control group. Additionally, 236 of 687 microbial enzymes with differential abundance deduced from 16S rRNA reads showed similar differential abundance in both groups compared to the control group. We concluded that the overall microbial balance, rather than the dominance or significant decrease of a few specific genera, likely caused the enhanced ADG until the 11th week. Substantial changes in microbiota manifested at the 16th week did not cause dramatically increased ADG but were a consequence of weight gain and could positively affect animal physiology and health afterward.

This study was performed to evaluate the effects of rye silage treated with sodium formate (Na-Fa) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculants on the ruminal fermentation characteristics, methane yield and energy balance in Hanwoo steers. Forage rye was harvested in May 2019 and ensiled without additives (control) or with either a LAB inoculant or Na-Fa. The LAB (Lactobacillus plantarum) were inoculated at 1.5 × 1010 CFU/g fresh matter, and the inoculant was sprayed onto the forage rye during wrapping at a rate of 4 L/ton of fresh rye forage. Sixteen percent of the Na-Fa solution was sprayed at a rate of approximately 6.6 L/ton. Hanwoo steers (body weight 275 ± 8.4 kg (n = 3, group 1); average body weight 360 ± 32.1 kg (n = 3, group 2)) were allocated into two pens equipped with individual feeding gates and used in duplicated 3 × 3 Latin square design. The experimental diet was fed twice daily (09:00 and 18:00) during the experimental period. Each period comprised 10 days for adaptation to the pen and 9 days for measurements in a direct respiratory chamber. The body weights of the steers were measured at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. Feces and urine were collected for 5 days after 1 day of adaptation to the chamber, methane production was measured for 2 days, and ruminal fluid was collected on the final day. In the LAB group, the ratio of acetic acid in the rumen fluid was significantly lower (p = 0.044) and the ratio of propionic acid in the rumen fluid was significantly higher (p = 0.017). Methane production per DDMI of the Na-FA treatment group was lower than that of the other groups (p = 0.052), and methane production per DNDFI of the LAB treatment group was higher than that of the other groups (p = 0.056). The use of an acid-based additive in silage production has a positive effect on net energy and has the potential to reduce enteric methane emissions in ruminants.

UNASSIGNED: Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus) is predominant cultured species in aquaculture. However, there is a scarcity of literature regarding relationship between guava and star gooseberry leaf extract and the condition factor. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the effect of guava and star gooseberry leaf extract-supplemented diets on the specific growth rate, length-weight relationship, and condition factor of Nile tilapia.
UNASSIGNED: Six hundred and thirty Nile tilapia (8.7±0.4 g) were randomly distributed among twenty-one tanks (30 fish per tank) within a recirculation system. Over a 60-day period, the fish were fed diets supplemented with 5g/Kg and 10g/Kg of guava leaf extract (GLE-5, GLE-10), star gooseberry leaf extract (SGLE-5, SGLE-10), and a mixture of both (MxLE-5, MXLE-10). Subsequently, specific growth rate, length-weight relationship, and condition factor were determined.
UNASSIGNED: After 60 days, the specific growth rate was significantly higher in all the GLE, SGLE, and MxLE groups compared to the control group. The final lengths and weights differed significantly both in the control group and all the GLE, SGLE, and MxLE groups. The analysis of the regression equation indicated a positive correlation (r = 0.970, 0.977, 0.976, 0.974, 0.974, 0.974, and 0.969) between the length and weight of Nile tilapia in the control group and in all the GLE, SGLE, and MxLE groups. The regression exponent \" b\" values in all the GLE, SGLE, and MxLE groups were >3, indicating a positive allometric growth pattern in Nile tilapia compared to the control ( b=2.866), which exhibited a negative allometry. The final condition factor values did not differ significantly in either the control group or any of the plant extract groups.
UNASSIGNED: Nile tilapia exhibited positive allometric growth patterns and maintained good health when fed with GLE, SGLE, and MxLE groups. Therefore, these plant extracts demonstrate suitability for commercial Nile tilapia production.

BACKGROUND: The quest for candidate probiotics and prebiotics to develop novel synbiotics for sustainable and profitable fish farming remains a major focus for various stakeholders. In this study, we examined the effects of combining two fungal probiotics, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Aspergillus niger with extracts of Jerusalem artichoke and white button mushroom to develop a synbiotic formulation to improve the growth and health status of zebrafish (Danio rerio). An initial in vitro study determined the most effective synbiotic combination, which was then tested in a 60-day in vivo nutritional trial using zebrafish (80 ± 1.0 mg) as a model animal. Four experimental diets were prepared: a control diet (basal diet), a prebiotic diet with 100% selected mushroom extract, a probiotic diet with 107 CFU of S. cerevisiae/g of diet, and a synbiotic diet with 107 CFU of S. cerevisiae/g of diet and 100% mushroom extract. As readouts, growth performance, survival, digestive enzyme activity and innate immune responses were evaluated.
RESULTS: In vitro results showed that the S. cerevisiae cultured in a medium containing 100% mushroom extract exhibited the maximum specific growth rate and shortest doubling time. In the in vivo test with zebrafish, feeding them with a synbiotic diet, developed with S. cerevisiae and mushroom extract, led to a significant improvement in the growth performance of zebrafish (P < 0.05). The group of zebrafish fed with the synbiotic diet showed significantly higher levels of digestive enzyme activity and immune responses compared to the control group (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results indicated that the combination of S. cerevisiae and mushroom extract forms an effective synbiotic, capable of enhancing growth performance and immune response in zebrafish.

Fishmeal and fish oil have been the main sources of protein and fatty acid for aquaculture fish. However, their increasing price and low sustainability have led the aquafeed industry to seek sustainable alternative feedstuffs to meet the nutritional requirements of fish and improve their health and performance. Plant proteins have been successfully used to replace fishery derivatives in aquafeeds, but the presence of anti-nutritional substances is a potential drawback of this approach. Thus, it has been reported that phytate breakdown can be caused by feed supplementation with exogenous phytase. The inclusion of microalgae has been proposed to improve gut functionality in fish fed diets with a high vegetable protein content. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on the growth and gut microbiota of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles of a diet containing a blend of microalgae (Arthrospira platensis and Nannochloropsis gaditana) and different concentrations of phytase. An 83-day feeding trial was conducted, comprising four experimental diets with 2.5% microalgae and 500, 1,000, 2,000, or 10,000 phytase units (FTU)/kg feed and a microalgae- and phytase-free control diet. At the end of the trial, a significantly increased body weight was observed in fish fed the diet with the highest phytase concentration (10,000 FTU/kg) versus controls, although the gut bacterial composition did not differ from controls in alpha or beta diversity with either majority (Weighted UniFrac) or minority bacterial strains (Unweighted UniFrac). In comparison to the control group, the groups fed diets with 1,000 or 2,000 FTU/kg diets had a lower alpha diversity (Shannon\'s diversity index), while those fed diets with 500 FTU/kg or 1,000 FTU/kg showed distinct clusters in beta diversity (involving minority ASVs). According to these findings, the diet containing the 2.5% microalgae blend with 10,000 FTU/kg may be useful to increase the aquafeed quality and sustain the growth performance of juvenile European seabass.

A study was carried out to ascertain the impact of planting time and weeding schedule on the yield and quality of baby corn. The trial included three planting times viz. 15 November, 15 December and 14 January and five levels of weeding regime viz. no weeding, two hand weeding (HW) at 15 days after sowing (DAS) and 30 DAS, herbicide pendimethalin @ 2.5 L ha-1 (pre-emergence) + one HW at 30 DAS, herbicide pyrazosulfuran-ethyl @ 2.0 L ha-1 (post-emergence) + one HW at 30 DAS and combined herbicide of pendimethalin + pyrazosulfuran-ethyl. The maximum cob yield with husk (11.93 t ha-1) and cob yield without husk (3.07 t ha-1) were obtained from the 15 December sowing with the application of pendimethalin followed by pyrazosulfuran-ethyl. Plants sown on 15 December with the application pyrazosulfuran-ethyl with one HW at 30 DAS gave the highest protein content in cobs (20.20%), while the leaf protein content showed the highest result (18.70%) in the plants sown on 15 December with no weeding. Therefore, it can be concluded that the baby corn might be planted on December 15 with the combined application of pendimethalin + pyrazosulfuran-ethyl herbicides and pyrazosulfuran-ethyl + one HW at 30 DAS for maximum cob yield and protein content, respectively.