Effects of a diet supplemented with a blend of protected organic acids and essential oilson growth performance and cecal microbiota composition in broilers

Authors

MEHMET AKANFollow
KADİR SERDAR DİKERFollow
SERDAR ÖZLÜFollow
MURAT ÇELEBİFollow
SEYYİDE SARIÇAM İNCEFollow
BARIŞHAN DOĞANFollow
OKAN ELİBOLFollow

Abstract

Organic acids (OAs) and essential oils (EOs) have several positive effects on the gut microbiota of broilers. In this study, weaimed to determine the efficacy of a blend of protected OAs and EOs [P(OA+EO)] on the growth performance and cecal microbiota ofbroiler chickens. A total of 160 Ross 308 broiler chickens, including 80 male and 80 female birds, all 1 day old, were randomly distributedbetween the control group (basal diet) and the treatment group [basal diet + 300 g/t P(OA+EO)] according to an 8-pen arrangementwith 4 replicates of 20 birds. Body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), feed consumption (FC), feed conversion ratio (FCR), andEuropean Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) were calculated. Eight cecal samples were collected from each group. Microbiologicalanalysis (Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus spp., Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella spp., and Eimeria spp.) and microbiome analysis (16SrRNA gene sequencing) were performed. As a result, BW, BWG, and EPEF were found to be higher in the P(OA+EO) than in thecontrol group, while FC and FCR were found to be lower. The E. coli level was higher in the control group (5.1 × 105 CFU/g), while theLactobacillus spp. level was higher in the P(OA+EO) group (3.6 × 106 CFU/g). Phyla of Firmicutes (88.2%–88.5%) and Bacteroidetes(5.6%–9.2%) were most common in both groups, while the levels of phylum Proteobacteria, which have a negative effect on growthperformance, were 1.27% in the P(OA+EO) and 2.43% in the control group. The use of P(OA+EO) was found to be beneficial formaintaining levels of Faecalibacterium spp. and Lachnospiraceae-unclassified associated with improved BWG [22.48% in the P(OA+EO)group and 15.04% in the control group]. Our findings indicate that the P(OA+EO) treatment decreased intestinal pathogens andimproved beneficial bacteria in the gut and broiler growth performance.

Author ORCID Identifier

BARIŞHAN DOĞAN: 0000-0002-9151-9232

KADİR DİKER: 0000-0003-2150-5553

MEHMET AKAN: 0000-0002-7342-1450

MURAT ÇELEBİ: 0000-0003-4847-2747

OKAN ELİBOL: 0000-0002-3422-1077

SERDAR ÖZLÜ: 0000-0002-7037-6244

SEYYİDE SARIÇAM İNCE: 0000-0002-2386-6857

DOI

10.55730/1300-0128.4365

Keywords

Chicken, essential oils, Firmicutes, gut microbiota, growth performance, organic acids

First Page

11

Last Page

18

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

AKAN, MEHMET; DİKER, KADİR SERDAR; ÖZLÜ, SERDAR; ÇELEBİ, MURAT; SARIÇAM İNCE, SEYYİDE; DOĞAN, BARIŞHAN; and ELİBOL, OKAN (2025) "Effects of a diet supplemented with a blend of protected organic acids and essential oilson growth performance and cecal microbiota composition in broilers," Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences: Vol. 49: No. 1, Article 3. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0128.4365
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/veterinary/vol49/iss1/3