Effect of Probiotics and Prebiotics Feeding on Egg Production and Quality in Poultry
A K Singh1, Punita Kumari2 and S K Rajak3
1: Assistant Professor, Animal Nutrition, FVAS, RGSC, BHU, Mirzapur, UP-231001
2: Assistant Professor cum Junior Scientist, Department of Animal Nutrition, RVC, Kanke, Ranchi,
3: Assistant Professor cum Junior Scientist, Livestock Production and Management, RVC, Kanke, Ranchi
India is one among the world’s top five producers of eggs, broiler chicken, and other poultry meat (Ravikumar et al.,2011). Keeping in mind that new chicks have interaction with their mother and acquire microflora from the environment, the normal microflora colonization in the intestine is slow and chicks may become infected during this period as a result, the concept of probiotic products intake, which is extremely beneficial, emerges during this period (Dhama et al.,2010). Because of the high demands of production, broiler chickens are subjected to a range of stressors, many of which have a detrimental influence on their general health and productivity. Under these conditions, the use of synthetic antimicrobials and antibiotics to decrease stress while simultaneously increasing growth and feed efficiency is common practice. Since the discovery of antibiotic residues and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the use of sub-therapeutic antibiotics in chicken feed has been a prohibited (Jin et al.,2007). Therefore, many alternative sources are been tested as their alternatives, Probiotics and Prebiotics has been among them with promising effects.
Probiotics:
The use of probiotics in animal feed may aid in the improvement of the animal’s gut flora balance as well as its growth performance. It is possible to distinguish two populations of microorganisms in a poultry’s digestive tract: those that have colonized the gut as a result of natural exposure and eating, and those that have been introduced to the diet via feed or water as direct-fed microorganisms (DFM) or probiotics. Each of these communities of microorganisms plays a critical function in maintaining the health of chickens. As a result of exposure to the environment and the bird’s normal feeding habits, autochthonous and allochthonous bacteria colonize the bird’s digestive system and cause it to malfunction (Chichlowski et al.,2007). To obtain desired health and production goals, a number of criteria must be considered while choosing and delivering probiotic micro-organisms [Huang et al.,2004]. Several in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that the administration of probiotics may be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of the onset of various diseases. As a result, there has been a rise in the use of certain probiotic cultures in the chicken industry, with the goal of enhancing production while also improving animal welfare [Hajati et al.,2010].
Probiotics may help maintain birds’ microbiota healthy and balanced, which can improve both their health and productivity if they are utilized on a regular basis in their diet. It is strongly suggested that probiotics be used in the care of new-born chicks, in stressful situations, and as an alternative to antibiotic growth boosters in broiler chicken. Early chick mortality and gastro-intestinal abnormalities such scouring, lack of appetite, and inappropriate digestion may be prevented when pathogenic microorganisms, particularly enteric pathogens, are eliminated. Probiotics increase microbial balance, nutrient absorption, digestion, feed conversion, growth rate, and efficiency. Chick mortality is also reduced by pre-venting the formation of dangerous microorganisms and, in particular, digestive issues induced by bacterial invasions. Egg production and quality, fertility and hatchability of eggs, egg albumen quality, and yolk cholesterol content are all improved by these products. There are several advantages to birds’ b-vitamins, such as improved bone structure and reduced contamination, enhanced medication and vaccine effects, and a healthy digestive tract following antibiotic treatment (Fathabad et al.,2011). Although the unlawful and widespread use of anti-biotics at subtherapeutic doses may lead to residues in chicken products and the development of drug-resistant bacteria, this does not rule out the use of probiotics to prevent the effects of antibiotics on bacteria. Apart from that, antibiotics used to treat illness impair the host’s general microflora, causing bacterial dysbiosis and difficult-to-treat future illnesses in addition to killing harmful bacteria. In addition to preventing diarrhoea, using probiotics with antibiotics helps to maintain the necessary gut microbiota balance without interfering with the medication’s effectiveness. It has been advised that the United States consider regulating the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry since drugs have failed to heal human ailments in the past [Farnell et al.,2006]. The European Union has ban the use of antibiotics in animal feeds. Providing probiotics on a regular basis is suggested to keep birds healthy since they are constantly disturbed and under a high level of infectious strain when grown intensively. The greatest outcomes will be obtained if the supplement is given to the bird before the infection challenge. In stressful situations, the dosage should be increased. After antibiotic treatment, probiotics must be provided to maintain a healthy microbiota popula-tion and achieve a well-balanced outcome. Powders and liquids containing probiotics are widely available as feed additives (Dhama et al.,2010). A single strain of yeast, a single strain of bacteria, or a combination of microorganisms may be utilized to treat numerous illnesses in the commercial probiotic market.
Except for laying performance, inclusion of probiotics in the diets of laying hens can also result in improved egg quality: higher values for albumen height and yolk color (Upadhaya et al., 2019); increased eggshell thickness and strength (Souza et al.,2021). Furthermore, previous studies also revealed that probiotic supplementation had a significant effect on increasing egg production and egg quality (Mikulski et al., 2020). The egg index value, which is inversely proportional to the resulting yolk weight, is thought to be closely related to a decrease in fat and cholesterol content in eggs because of lactic acid probiotics.
Prebiotics:
The use of prebiotics in layers has shown promising results on improving the population of certain beneficial bacterial genera in the gut. For example, a prebiotic increased the abundance levels of Lactobacillus and Olsenella and the expression of genes in microbial communities associated with propanoate and butanoate metabolism in the gut of layers (Xiang et al., 2019). The prebiotics shown to produce variable results in terms of reducing pathogen load in the gut and priming the host immune system. Prebiotics increase the population and functionality of certain resident gut microbiota that in turn competitively exclude pathogenic bacteria by mechanisms that include the production of microbial metabolites, mucin production and modulation of the host immune system. Prebiotics containing xylose, fructose, galactose, mannose and glucose, earned much attention and appear to be particularly promising (Patterson and Burkholder, 2003). Some of them have proved the protection against Salmonella by providing binding sites for pathogenic bacteria flushing out of the digestive tract. Chen et al. (2005) demonstrated some changes in digestive system, mainly by an elongation of both small and large intestine in laying hens receiving FOS supplementation. As a consequence, increased egg production and improved feed efficiency were observed. Furthermore, FOS supplementation increased egg shell strength by skeletal and plasma calcium levels augmentation (Chen and Chen, 2004) and reduced yolk cholesterol concentrations without affecting yolk weight. Significantly decreased concentration of yolk cholesterol was also reported when inulin was added to the diet for layers (Shang et al., 2018). The results of some studies with hens have also shown that such prebiotic fructans as inulin or oligofructose may positively affect mineral utilization and in this way, improve eggshell and bone quality (Świątkiewicz et al., 2010). prebiotics may have some protective effects against Salmonella, and it would be a viable option for maintaining a healthy microbial population in fasted egg layers by using prebiotics or even a synbiotic combination, especially during stress, because the number of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli populations in these periods would decrease in the gut of stressed birds. prebiotics such as FOS have been combined with high fiber diets to alter fermentation and cecal microbial composition in adult laying hen ceca, thus preventing S. Enteritidis colonization and infection in susceptible birds such as those undergoing molt (Ricke et al., 2020). o counter Salmonella infection and subsequent egg contamination, preharvest, and postharvest intervention strategies have been adopted. These strategies propose implementing appropriate biosecurity measures, exercising external vector control, vaccination, disinfection and cleaning in the live bird operations, and proper handling of eggs to prevent Salmonella growth (Chousalkar et al., 2018). Preharvest feed additive interventions include prebiotics and probiotics and have been developed for conventionally housed layers (Ricke, 2020). Prebiotics have been administered to both young layer chicks and supplements for molting diets in conventional layer hens (Ricke, 2020). Bozkurt et al. (2014) demonstrated that MOS supplementation increased eggshell weights in caged layer hens placed in an open-ended shed that exposed the birds to heat stress from ambient temperatures and humidity of western Turkey. Dietary fibers have been touted as potential sources of compounds exhibiting prebiotic-like properties. Gerzilov et al., [2019], affirmed that the addition of prebiotic to feed increased egg production, especially during the cold and hot months of the year in Tetra Super Harco layers. The egg yolk cholesterol content was also found to be lowered 11.97% in hens fed fructooligosaccharide (Li and others 2007), Prebiotic FOS has also been shown to increase alpha-linolenic acid content in egg yolks and eggshell thickness (Yi et al., 2014).
Conclusion:
The present meta-analysis confirms that probiotics supplementation increases egg production of laying hens and alters eggs interior and exterior qualities such as Haugh unit, yolk colour, eggshell thickness and eggshell weight. Probiotics are also effective to decrease low-density lipoprotein cholesterol while increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol blood concentrations, so can increase health-promoting properties of poultry products. However, bacterial strains may result differently and therefore future studies in this area are needed
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