Effect of dietary fructose on broiler chick performance

Effect of Yeast Culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on Broilers: A Preliminary Study on the Effective Components of Yeast Culture

Simple Summary

The value of yeast culture (YC) as alternative feed additives in poultry farming has been proven. YC is a nutrient-rich and complex micro-ecological fermentation product containing various metabolites. However, the major or specific effective components of YC and their importance in poultry farming are unknown. Herein, we screened the “effective ingredients” of YCs obtained from different fermentation times based on metabolomics and animal feeding experiments. Glycine, fructose, inositol, galactose, and sucrose were identified as potential effective metabolites in YCs. These findings provide an important basis for objective, accurate, and quick evaluation of the quality of YC products, as well as a scientific understanding of their functions.

Abstract

This study was aimed at determining the effective ingredients of yeast culture (YC) for animal breeding. First, the contents of YCs obtained from various fermentation times were detected using gas-chromatography. A total of 85 compounds were identified. Next, 336 Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were randomly divided into seven experimental groups and fed a basal diet, diets supplemented with YCs obtained at various fermentation times, or SZ1 (a commercial YC product). A significant increase in body weight gain (BWG) and a significant decrease in feed conversion ratio (FCR) of AA broiler chicks were observed with YC supplementation. Additionally, most of blood and immunological indices were improved with YC supplementation. According to the production performance and the results of multivariate analysis, glycine, fructose, inositol, galactose, and sucrose were found as the potential effective compounds of YC and were involved in metabolic pathways including glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism. Supplementation with diets based on combinations of effective compounds improved weight gain, feed efficiency, serum immunoglobulin A, and immunoglobulin G, but decreased blood urea concentration. These findings suggest YCs as effective and harmless feed additives with improved nutritional properties for broiler chicks.

Fructose and its effect on turkey plasma uric acid levels and productive performance

Previous studies have shown that addition of fructose to the diet of broilers raises plasma uric acid (PUA) concentration and improves productive performance. The purpose of this experiment was to establish the effect of feeding fructose on turkey PUA concentration and productive performance. Turkey poults (n = 64) were weighed and randomly assigned to diets containing 0 (control), 5, 10, and 15% fructose with four replicates of four poults each per treatment. All diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Feed and water were offered ad libitum for 14 wk. Body weights were measured biweekly throughout the study, and blood samples were drawn from wk 8 to 10 for determination of PUA concentration, leukocyte oxidative activity (LOA), and differential leukocyte counts. Relative liver size (g/kg BW) was also determined. The heaviest body weights were recorded from turkeys fed 10% fructose diet (P < 0.05). Supplemental fructose had no effect on the feed to gain ratio, relative liver size, or PUA concentrations. LOA increased in poults fed the 15% fructose diet. Turkeys fed 10 and 15% fructose diets had higher monocyte and lower polymorphonuclear lymphocyte counts (P < 0.05) compared to those fed control and 5% fructose diets. Feeding fructose to turkeys at 10% of the diet improved productive performance. However, dietary fructose had no effect on PUA or, consequently, LOA.