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Modern commercial breeding programs aim at maximizing productive performance, especially with modern broiler chicken strains, which are characterized by a high growth rate and a lower feed conversion factor. However, it is more sensitive to environmental stress, intensive rearing conditions, and high nutritional needs. Nutrition plays a key role in achieving the maximum amount of production while maintaining the health of the bird, in addition to reducing production costs by searching for unconventional feed ingredients or using some feed additives. Feed additives are mainly used in animal feed to help provide for the bird’s needs. In addition, it is used to enhance bird health, stimulate digestion, improve feed efficiency, and resistance to diseases by positive influence on the gastrointestinal tract, metabolism, and enhancement of the immune system, inhibiting pathogens, and improving intestinal integrity. In broiler nutrition, special attention should be paid to feed additives of modification of immunity and microbial content such as pre-and probiotics, nano compounds, herbs. In this chapter, we will elucidate the importance of feed additives from the point of marginal environmental conditions, which face many challenges concerning poultry feeding. Hence, feed additives will be a fruitful tool to cope with some of such challenges under those marginal conditions.
*Address all correspondence to: dm.a.baz@gmail.com
1. Introduction
The poultry industry is one of the largest investments in the world. In particular, broiler chicken production, which attracted enormous investments for business profit, as it is characterized by low production costs and short production period. In addition to the increased demand for poultry meat due to its low-fat content and low consumer price compared to other meats (animals and fish). The consumption of poultry meat represents about 70% of the total meat consumed as about 66 billion birds are slaughtered annually, and the United States, China, and Brazil represent the largest poultry-producing countries. With this remarkable development in the broiler industry, it was necessary to use some feed additives to meet many challenges, including disease resistance, prevention of heat stress, improving the utilization of feed, and stimulating growth and production [1, 2, 3]. In this concern, feed additives are products used for specific purposes in animal feed, to meet the poultry nutritional requirements and improve the quality of feed, and enhance the animals performance and health, as well as the quality of food of animal origin (e.g., eggs and meat) [4, 5].
Global warming is one of the major challenges for animal breeding. High environmental temperatures negatively affect the poultry industry; thus, we have a fundamental interest in reducing the negative effects of climate change on poultry breeding. The important question is, what tools do we have to reduce the harmful impacts of high environmental temperatures? A solution for the prevention of heat stress in poultry includes developing technology devices (e.g., air conditioning and intensive ventilation); however, housing methods are more expensive and this makes it the biggest obstacle to its spread, especially in developing countries. Therefore, reducing the harmful effects of heat stress with different nutritional tools such as using a feed additive [6, 7]. Before selecting additions, we must be aware of the changes in the physiological and metabolism of broilers caused by heat stress to determine the type and role of each feed additive that can be used. Numerous studies have shown that the use of some feed additives (such as plant extract, probiotics, vitamins C, E, and A, zinc, and selenium) had a positive role in mitigating the harmful effects of heat stress [7, 8, 9].
It was reported that the use of antibiotics is necessary to fight pathogenic microbes, in particular, infectious pathologies (Clostridia and Coccidiosis), as well as growth promoters (regulation of the intestinal microflora, increased vitality, enhancement growth performance, and stimulation of the immune system) [10, 11]. Despite all these advantages, but as a result of the wrong use of antibiotics, led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains with residues in animal meat, which affects human health. For this reason, the European Union in 2005 banned the use of antibiotics as a growth promoter to minimize health risks [12]. Nutritionists began searching for safe alternatives to antibiotics for animals and humans. In this concern, the use of some feed additives reduces the problems faced by the poultry sector, such as heat stress, and improves feed utilization, subsequently reducing production costs [13, 14, 15, 16]. Therefore, this chapter aims to summarize how various feed additives can reduce the use of antibiotics, the negative effects of heat stress, and improve the utilization of unconventional feed ingredients.
2. Using feed additives to eliminate harmful effects of heat stress on poultry
Heat stress is considered a critical holdback to coping with the poultry industry, particularly in a hot environment, triggering greater economic losses in the poultry industry [8, 17]. The bird begins to experience heat stress when the ambient temperature elevation is above the comfort zone (thermoneutral zone) leading to inducing stressful behavioral responses (higher respiratory rate, disorders in metabolism, and injuries intestinal integrity and morphology) to loss of excess heat that exceeds the critical temperature (Figure 1) [18, 19]. This means that there is more loss of heat (energy), which leads to less energy remaining for production (growth and egg production) and results in poultry performance deteriorating such as dehydration, high death, and altered meat quality characterized [6, 8]. Furthermore, developments in the genetic selection of broilers have led to rapid growth with a low feed conversion ratio and a high metabolic rate, which is accompanied by increased feed intake and causes a higher heat production level, this made him more sensitive to a hot environment [7]. Summarizing, it can be difficult to keep poultry in a thermoneutral zone in a hot environment, wherefore, it is important to use technical devices (ventilation and a cooling system), in addition to nutritional tools to reduce the negative effect of heat stress on birds. Therefore, the proper management practices can be complemented to keep health and performance by using some vital dietary doctrinaire (feed additives), so phytobiotics, probiotics, natural antioxidants, vitamins, electrolytes, and fat (Table 1 and Figure 2), in addition, to feed form, feed restriction, and drinking cold water [6, 7, 25].
Figure 1.
Physiological, behavioral, and growth performance changes during exposure to heat stress.
Additives
Findings
Reference
Selenium
Enhancing thyroid hormone metabolism, immunity, and antioxidative
Using feed additives to eliminate harmful effects of heat stress on poultry.
Figure 2.
The role of dietary supplements in mitigating the adverse effects of heat stress.
2.1 Oil or fats
Many studies indicated that the addition of fats in chicken diets enhanced the performance index, which was bred under high ambient temperatures [26, 27]. In general, energy is a limiting factor for high ambient temperature conditions, where a deficiency in energy intake could occur through reduced feed intake and appetite. Reduced feed intake during heat-stressed chickens causes the intake of protein and fat to be about 40% less than the needs required to maintain life and productivity [26], in addition to minimizing the heat production induced by feed digestion. Furthermore, chickens resort to panting for getting rid of the thermal burden, which depends on respiratory muscular activity, resulting in increased energy expenditure [28]. Therefore, chickens need to increase energy while obtaining an easy source to benefit from, for this reason, it was better to provide the required energy during the period of heat stress by adding oil or fats than using carbohydrates [8, 29]. Adding oil contributes to reducing heat production because the heat increment of carbohydrates or protein is higher than that of fat [30]. A significant improvement was observed in the performance and digestion coefficient of birds that received higher recommended levels of metabolizable energy during heat stress. Al-Harthi et al. [26] declared that heat-stressed broilers fed a high metabolizable energy diet showed an improvement in feed utilization and live body weight. Adding oil contributes to reducing heat production because the heat increment of carbohydrates or protein is higher than that of fat [30]. Moreover, fat-supplemented diets improved the palatability of poultry diets and physical characteristics, resulting in enhanced feed intake and performance [31]. In addition, many studies confirmed that oil supplementation in the poultry diet increases nutrient utilization by lowering the rate of food passage in the gut [32].
2.2 Minerals and vitamin
Minerals and vitamins play an important role in all vital processes in the body, including the basal metabolic rate, antioxidative properties, and protein composition, resulting in improved health and performance.
Selenium (Se) is one of the important elements that acts as a cofactor for antioxidant enzymes, as well as responsible for the conversion of thyroxin (T4) into active triiodothyronine (T3) and is involved in several biological functions. Several studies indicated that dietary supplementation of Se or Nano-Se enhanced BWG, FCR, and immune responsiveness in heat-stressed broilers [6, 33, 34]. Moreover, numerous studies have shown that adding Se to chicken diets reduces the negative effects of heat stress by enhancing thyroid hormone metabolism, immunity, and antioxidative status (elevated mRNA expression of GSH-Px in the liver), which resulted in improved productive performance [20, 34].
Zinc (Zn) is an essential element that contributes to bone formation, feather formation, and composition, and the function of more hundred enzymes linked to the metabolism of nucleic acid, energy, and protein [35]. Moreover, Zn is involved in the activity of the antioxidative enzymes (GSH-Px, SOD) by suppressing free radicals [36]. Numerous research also confirmed that the addition of zinc in its various forms (organic, inorganic, and nano) in chicken feed exposed to environmental heat stress led to improved growth rate, FCR, nutrient digestibility, minimized lipid peroxidation, and enhanced antioxidant enzymes and humoral immune response [21, 37]. Recently, mixing two or more elements had a positive effect in reducing the harmful effects of heat stress, such as mixing between magnesium (Mg) and zinc(Zn) diet increased BWG and dressing percentage in Japanese quail [22]. Moreover, the addition of an organic minerals mixture (Zn, Cu, and Mn) in heat-stressed laying hen feed, resulted in improved egg production, egg quality traits, minimized yolk lipid oxidation, and enhanced humoral immunity [37, 38].
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is one of the important antioxidant components (water-soluble) that attenuate the undesirable impacts of heat stress in poultry via safeguards cells against oxidative damage [39]. It is known as ascorbic acid and is endogenously synthesized in several bird species, however, necessary to be adding to the diet under conditions of heat stress. This can be explained by exposure to high ambient temperatures reducing the absorption of vitamin C and accelerating its destruction. Vitamin C is synthesized in poultry in the kidney from glucose, but in normal conditions, the birds are able to synthesize adequate amounts of vitamin C. A study showed a significant decrease in the level of ascorbic acid by 40% in the blood of Japanese quails under heat stress conditions compared with the control group [40], thus the increased requirements of this vitamin C during periods of heat stress [41]. Beside, vitamin C plays a role in improving feed efficiency by stimulating the thyroid gland, as well as enhancing Ca + 2 metabolism via participation in essential processes such as adrenaline, corticosterone release, and 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin D biosynthesis [23]. In addition, it is necessary for immune system activation and body temperature regulation. Because of the increased intensity of heat stress on birds performance, many scientific studies that vitamin C supplementation in dietary stressed Japanese quails leads to improving the performance status, enhancing immunological traits, and behavior, and declines the metabolic rate and survival rate [25, 42]. Additionally, supplementation of the vitamin C diet decreased lipid peroxidation and improved the antioxidant status in Japanese quail exposed to heat stress [42].
2.3 Direct-fed microbials
Heat stress results in the impairment of gut integrity and function by impairing intestinal microflora balance, and mucus layer [43, 44]. This disruption of the intestinal barrier facilitates the translocation of pathogenic bacteria and their toxins into the host body (bird) and enhances inflammatory responses. Previous studies noted that acute heat stress leads to a significantly altered gut microbial community (increased opportunity for Salmonella attachment) and intestinal morphology [43, 45]. The strategy aims to use probiotics as a means to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on the bird by modifying the microbial content to optimize gastrointestinal health. Probiotics or direct-fed microbials are microbial and are defined as live beneficial microbial feed supplements, including bacteria (Bifidobacteria, Bacilli, and Lactobacilli), fungi (Aspergillus awamori, and Aspergillus oryzae), and yeast cultures (Saccharomyces) that can intestinal microbial balance, intestinal health, and immune responses, results in improve poultry performance [3, 46]. Several studies summarized that probiotic supplemented in broiler diets improved daily weight gain and decreased mortality rate under hot environmental conditions [8, 47]. The inclusion of probiotics in broiler diets leads to enhanced growth performance, and immune response [16]. Therefore, it is extremely useful to equip poultry diets with probiotics levels that support intestinal integrity and improve feed utilization by increasing intestinal absorption surface by increasing the height of the villus (Figure 3) and enhancing the immune system. As indicated by a study by Abdel-Moneim et al., [15]; Elbaz et al., [3]; Li et al., [48] that the inclusion of Bacillus subtilis has the potential to produce some digestive enzymes, as well as, enhance intestinal development and function, and improve immune response. Moreover, Abdel-Moneim et al. [15]; Saleh et al., [49] indicated supplementation of B. subtilis in quail and broiler diets also improvement in feed efficiency and BWG, and raise muscle concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids. Many studies have also confirmed the important physiological role of probiotics in promoting the antioxidant defense system of heat-stressed broiler chickens via activating enzymes antioxidants [6]. For this reason, the positive role of adding probiotics can be emphasized in mitigating the negative effects of heat stress via enhancing intestinal integrity and improving feed utilization and antioxidant status.
Figure 3.
Photomicrographs of ileal villi showing how villus height of broiler chickens exposed to heat stress (G1) is shorter compared to other broiler-fed on some feed additive.
2.4 Medicinal plants and plant bioactives
Herbs, plant extract, and essential oils spice is widely used in herbal medicine to improve the immune system and enhance antioxidative status and antimicrobial. Volatile essential oils can stimulate digestive enzyme activity and control pathogenic bacteria [7, 50]. Heat stress disrupts the balance between oxidation and antioxidant defense systems, causing lipid peroxidation, and consequently DNA oxidative damage [33]. Plant bioactives are a type of chemical found in plants and certain foods with small amounts (such as vegetables, fruits, oils, and grains). Essential oils have the biological activity of substances with different chemical compositions and concentrations, which play of important in antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial (thymol and carvacrol) [51, 52]. In addition, essential oils or organic acids, including lactic, citric, formic, and fumaric acids, generated from plants are to control harmful microorganisms in the digestive and respiratory organs of poultry via reducing pH in the gut [53]. Results of many research indicate that supplementation of thyme essential oil is a suitable strategy to improve the immune system and productive performance, decreased the mortality rate, and reduce the negative effects of heat stress [7, 54, 55]. Supplementation of essential oil broilers diet had reduced the adverse effects of heat stress on performance and immune responses [55] and can be a good alternative to improve the adverse impact of aflatoxin B1 contaminated in the broiler diet [56].
2.5 Betaine
Betaine is the amino acid glycine or trimethyl glycine and is greatly found in a variety of plants. Functionally, betaine plays an important role in mitigating the harmful effects of heat stress through its role as a methyl group donor for the methionine homocysteine cycle and as an organic osmolyte, as well as it is an antioxidant natural. It also plays an important role under conditions that inactivate cells (loss of water causes cells to die) via protecting cells from osmotic pressure, which allows them to continue normal metabolic activities. This confirms the evidence that biotin may be a feed material with positive effects on poultry performance, especially during heat stress through the high value [24, 57]. Many studies have confirmed that the addition of biotin improves broiler performance, carcass composition by changing lipid metabolism [58], immune response, lipid metabolism [59], and intestinal barrier function [60]. Furthermore, it has been suggested that improving the meat quality of broilers fed on betaine is due to its role as a natural antioxidant [61].
3. Use of feed additives as alternatives to antibiotics in poultry diets
For many decades, poultry breeders have been looking for a growth stimulant and protection for birds from intestinal and respiratory diseases, even using antibiotics. Several previous studies have shown that the addition of antibiotics in poultry feed improves productive performance by stimulating the immune system, increasing vitality and regulation of the intestinal microflora, and improving appetite and feed conversion efficiency [11, 62]. Despite all these desirable advantages, the incorrect use of antibiotics has led to increasing antimicrobial resistance bacteria and residues in animal products as a public health threat. For this reason, the European Union in 2005 banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters. This motivated nutritionists to search for safe alternatives to antibiotics to maintain public health while increasing antibiotic-free broiler meat production. Therefore, this chapter part aimed to explain feeding strategies of different antibiotic alternatives, including prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes, and phytogenic groups (herbs, essential oils, and marine algae), [2, 3, 13, 16] in poultry production (Table 2 and Figure 4). Will be explained in the following points.
Additives
Type
Findings
Reference
Probiotic
Bifidobacterium
Increased body weight and weight gain and enhanced feed conversion ratio
Improved antioxidant status and immune response
Improved Ileal architecture by highest values of villus height
Use of feed additives as alternatives to antibiotics in poultry diets.
Figure 4.
The most important antibiotics alternative to enhance the general performance of chickens.
3.1 Probiotics
Probiotics are live strains of beneficial bacteria that confer a health benefit on the host by fighting pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract of chickens, enhancing immunity, and stimulating growth. In addition, it is providing feeding efficiency improvement, antioxidant capacity, the microbial profile of the cecum, and intestinal protection [5, 15]. Several strains of beneficial microbes have been identified in the bird’s gut for development and use as probiotics [3, 15]. The most used microorganisms as probiotics in poultry feed are bacterial strains (Gram-positive) such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacillus, yeast (Saccharomyces), and fungi (Aspergillus). The main action of probiotics includes lowering the gut pH through the organic acids and volatile fatty acids produced during the fermentation process through probiotics [16]. As well low pH in the intestine inhibits the colonization effects of pathogens in the digestive tract. Probiotics work as well by secreting products that inhibit their development such as organic acids, bacteriocins, and hydrogen peroxide and competitive exclusion through competing with pathogenic bacteria for locations in the intestinal mucous membrane to adhere to nutrients [16, 68]. Other principal mechanisms of probiotics are also used to modulate immunomodulation and to improve intestinal integrity by modulating intestinal microbiota and competition for binding sites on the intestinal epithelium wall, which hinders competition and joining of pathogenic microorganisms, this higher concentration of the beneficial microbiota. The results of several studies showed that feeding poultry on probiotics enhanced fiber and protein digestion and enzymatic activity, resulting in efficient feed nutrient utilization [67, 69]. Some studies also confirmed that adding a mixture of beneficial microbes (B. subtilis and Lactobacillus) was more effective in performance in environmental stress conditions through promoting nutrient digestion and gut health and the immunity modulated by the microbiota [68, 69].
3.2 Prebiotics
Prebiotics are carbohydrates that can be utilized by useful gut microorganisms but are indigestible by the host animal. The most important sources of prebiotics are mannan oligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharide, oligofructose, inulin, galactan, galactooligosaccharides, and fiber components, which can extract from barley, oats, flax seeds, onion, and garlic, as well as green algae.
Feeding chickens on a diet containing prebiotics have been shown to gut microbiota modulation and improve immunity, which are antioxidant, and antibacterial properties [70]. The most common commercial feed nutrients in poultry feed are mannan oligosaccharides, D-mannose, and β-glucan, which are derived from the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae [63]. The positive role of adding probiotics can be explained by alterations of gut microorganisms that enable them to reduce pathogenic bacteria, increase their numbers of beneficial bacteria, maintain optimal intestinal pH, increase nutrients digestibility, and increase mineral and vitamin absorbability, which improved host health and performance [70, 71]. Modifying the intestine microbiota by promoting beneficial gut microbes that ferment them, leads to the production of short-chain fatty acids, or some antibacterial substances such as bacteriocins against pathogenic microbes [70]. These fermented products of beneficial microbes due to improving the integrity of intestinal epithelial cells [72] will be followed by increasing the absorption of nutrients and improving the growth performance of poultry. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effective role of establishing a healthy microbial community in the intestine of poultry by enhancing the abundance of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli and reducing harmful microbes such as coliform [64, 73]. In addition to stimulation of the immune system, improvement of the epithelium by regulation of the interaction among the host (birds) and the intestinal microbiota, thus improving the productive performance of poultry.
3.3 Organic acids
Organic acids (OC) are organic compounds with acidic properties (weak acids), classified based on the number of carboxylic acid groups (R-COOH) and antimicrobial effects in animal feeds. Organic acids are promising alternatives. Among these, are formic acid, citric acid, propionic acid, and acetic acid. Their inclusion in poultry feed has been shown to enhance growth and feed efficiency [74, 75]. Organic acids individually or in their combinations are usually considered safe and perform can function similarly to antibiotics [76], furthermore, used as feed preservatives due to their strong antifungal and antibacterial properties [74].
The antimicrobial mechanism of organic acid has been suggested for the lowering of the pH of the intestines, that way limiting the growth of the microbial less tolerant to acid pH. The magnitude of the antimicrobial activity of an acid depends upon its concentration and pH [3, 77]. The use of OC has been reported to protect poultry by competitive exclusion [70], and it can penetrate the bacteria cell wall and disrupt the normal physiology of certain types of bacteria, mostly pathogenic microbes (pathogenic bacteria reside at a pH close to 7) [65, 75, 77]. In addition to the antimicrobial activity, they reduce the pH of digesta, increase pancreatic secretion, and prevent damage to epithelial cells by reducing the production of toxic components via the bacteria and colonization of pathogens on the intestinal wall, thus enhancement of nutrient utilization and growth and feed conversion efficiency [3, 74]. Several studies have documented the positive effect of OC on improved growth and enhanced digestibility of nutrients and gut health by improved duodenal villus height, boost gastric proteolytic activity (activating the pepsin activity), enhanced absorption of the feed contents from the intestines, and the digestibility of minerals. Furthermore, an increase in antibody titer against Newcastle disease, and improved immunoglobulin status were significantly improved in broilers fed on organic acid supplementation [65, 78]. Similarly, the improved immune response has also been reported in response to organic acid supplementation in broilers could be due to the increased Lactobacillus spp. population in the gut, which has a positive effect on the host immune system [3, 65]. For that can the use of organic acids as a sustainable and potent alternative to antibiotics, thus maximizing future production and health of poultry.
3.4 Phytogenic
Phytogenic are plant-origin extracted compounds that include herbs, spices, and essential oils. It also features less toxic, residue-free, and perfect feed additives for poultry production compared with synthetic antibiotics. Herbs also contain essential oils, organic acids, and a complex mixture of various compounds. Essential oils have many biological properties such as antimicrobial antioxidant enzymatic, anti-heat stress effects, activating the immune system, and stimulating digestion [7, 79, 80]. Organic acids, produced by plants, are which play an important role in controlling harmful microorganisms in poultry’s digestive and respiratory organs. The most important of them are lactic, citric, formic, and fumaric acids. The most critical role of organic acids is to reduce pH in the gastrointestinal tract and enhanced the immune responses of poultry [79]. Additionally, organic acids can preserve the microbial balance in the gastrointestinal tract by inhibiting microorganism growth in food and the gut. Many active components (flavonoids, hydrolyzable tannins, proanthocyanidins, phenolic acids, and phenolic terpenes) can prevent lipid peroxidation by the activation of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase) or quenching free radicals [80, 81].
Numerous studies have shown that adding herbs or essential oils to chicken feed improves anti-oxidative and antimicrobial activities, reduces inflammation, enhances intestinal functions, and increases fiber and nitrogen retention digestibility [79, 82], which results in improving growth performance. Previous reports confirmed beneficial effects to improve performance and broiler health, which can be used as a good alternative to antibiotics.
4. Using feed additives to improve the utilization of some unconventional feed ingredients in poultry feeding
The major constraint in poultry feeding is the higher prices of conventional feedstuffs (mainly, corn and soybean), which are transported from many countries adding to the cost of production to a great extent. Moreover, these two feed ingredients are also high in demand by other humans (yellow maize) and animals (soybean meal). As a result, the availability of feed ingredients for poultry feed would become more competitive. Feed is one of the major constituents in poultry production, which represents about 80–85% of the total cost of poultry production. This caused an increase in the responsibility of nutritionists increasing the poultry production and research utilization of unconventional feed resources through strategic and applied research to bring down the cost of production. In addition, recently, corn has been used as a major source of produce biofuel, and this further poses a serious food security risk, especially in developing countries [83]. Currently, efforts are large to use alternative sources of energy and protein to be substituted for corn and soybean meal in monogastric animals [46, 84]. As produced a huge amount of alternative feedstuffs in some developing countries are considered as agro waste by-products such as cotton seed meal, olive cake, wheat bran, rice bran, canola meal, palm kernel cake, etc. [46, 85, 86, 87]. However, many of this agro-waste products are containing the presence of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, as well as anti-nutritional factors [46, 87], which can negatively effect on productivity and health status of the chickens. Poultry is monogastric animals that lack fiber-degrading enzymes for the breakdown of complex carbohydrates [88].
So, there is a need to improve the utilization of these fibrous materials (unconventional feedstuffs) to incorporate such ingredients in poultry feed without any adverse effect on their health and production. In the following, we will throw some light on to use of some nonconventional feedstuffs with the potential to be replaced partially or totally with corn and soybean meal in poultry feeds, in addition to the importance of some additives to alleviate the secondary metabolites in such feedstuffs (Table 3).
Additives
Findings
Reference
Probiotic (fermentation)
Canola meal (20%)
Improved body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio
Increased the population of Lactobacillus spp. and decreasing the E. coli
Enhanced body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio
Using feed additives to improve the utilization of some unconventional feed ingredients in poultry feeding.
4.1 Canola meal
Canola meal (CM) is the by-product of oil extraction. It has a higher crude protein content of approximately 35–40% and sulfur-containing amino acids are higher than that of soybean meal, while lysine content is less than that of soybean meal. The problem with using CM in poultry feeds is the containing of glucosinolate, fibers, sinapine, tannins, and phytate, as well as it has low metabolizable energy [79, 86]. Many methods help to reduce anti-nutritional factors, one of these methods is adding some feed additive, fermentation, etc. [79, 88]. Many studies have shown that adding probiotics, extrusion, exogenous enzymes, or using the fermentation process for some dietary ingredients has improved performance, increased nutrient digestibility, and reduced the effects of antinutritional [96, 97]. Therefore, it was reported that canola meal can be incorporated in poultry diets up to 5–8% without any feed additive, and broiler chickens were fed on a diet containing 20% of fermented CM, which did not negatively affect performance [84]. The fermentation process leads to reducing pathogens such as Escherichia coli, and Clostridium perfringens, resulting in enhanced gut health [85, 96]. Furthermore, the addition of exogenous enzymes is important to degrade complex fibers (non-starch polysaccharides, NSP) to improve the nutritional value of unconventional feed ingredients [85]. Enzymes play an influential role in improving feed digestion and utilization. Moreover, exogenous enzymes improved nutrient digestibility in poultry leading to lowering nutrient excretion in excreta such as excess nitrogen, phosphorus, and zinc, which reduces environmental pollution and improves feed utilization, in addition, reduced the effect of anti-nutrients and improved productive performance. Previous studies indicated that the fermentation broiler feed by Aspergillus resulted in an increase in nutrient solubility and digestibility, reduced phosphorus excretion, and improved broiler growth and feed utilization compared to the control group [89]. However, positive effects were observed when the addition of enzymes in broiler diets containing canola meal (17.5%) on the overall performance of broilers [95]. It was reported that CM can be incorporated in poultry diets up to 20–25% fermented CM-based with exogenous enzymes in broilers fed [46, 85].
4.2 Sunflower meal
Sunflower meal, a by-product from the oil extraction industry, is available in significantly high quantities throughout the year at a lower cost than soybean. Sunflower meal has protein levels ranging between 30 and 37%, it is a good source of protein with amino acid availabilities similar to those of soybean meal [95]. One of the important characteristics of sunflower meal is that it does not have anti-nutritional factors like those found in soybean. Despite this, its addition to poultry feed does not exceed 15% because it contains a high concentration of non-starch polysaccharides, in addition to low metabolizable energy and lysine levels [98, 99]. Some studies recommended the sunflower meal up to 15% in broiler diets without negative effects on performance [98]. Many studies reported that sunflower meal can be used at higher levels with no negative effects on the utilization and growth performance of broiler chickens with the addition of enzymes [95]. Supplementation of exogenous enzymes in poultry diets can decrease their deleterious effects on high concentrations of fiber and stimulate fiber digestion. Supplementation of exogenous enzymes functions in the breakdown of NSPs and reduction of gut viscosity, thus improving nutrients digestibility and gut performance. In some studies, an improvement in growth performance (LBW and FCR) was observed in the birds fed SFM supplemented with exogenous enzymes compared to the control diet [100, 101] maybe as a result of the enhancement of other physiological and metabolic processes such as depolymerize complex NSPs and increasing nutrient digestibility that has prebiotic effects on health-promoting bacterial proliferation by releasing fermentable manno-, galacto-, xylo-, or gluco-oligomers during cracking of fiber [95]. In addition, it increases energy concentration and enhances nutrient utilization and absorption [100, 101]. From that, sunflower meal up to 25–30% can be used with some feed additives as a soybean meal substitute.
4.3 Cottonseed meal
Cottonseed meal is a potentially good source of protein (41–44%) and metabolizable energy as a substitute for soybean in poultry diets, the protein percentage varies based on the degree of dehulling before oil extraction. However, using cottonseed meal as an ingredient in poultry feeds presents numerous challenges and limitations, including high fiber content, as well as high presence of gossypol (a toxic polyphenolic pigment) and unbalanced amino acids such as low lysine content. Many reports have shown various ways to optimize the use of cottonseed meal in poultry feed such as proper processing, supplementation with lysine, other feed additives, or a particular combination of feed additives [102]. Gossypol inhibits the activity of pepsin and trypsin in the gut, thereby reducing the digestibility of protein [94, 103]. One of the factors that can impede protein utilization and nutrient digestibility is the presence of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), which the bird cannot digest. It is well established that supplementing exogenous enzymes in poultry feed, such as β-glucanase, xylanase, and pectinase, leads to improved digestibility by potentially lower intestinal content viscosity [102]. Several studies confirmed that adding a mixture of enzymes (β-glucanase and xylanase) to the poultry diet that contained cottonseed meal led to an improvement in performance (lowered the FCR and increased BWG) through improving the digestibility of amino acids, and starch [94]. The improvement in nutrient digestion may be due to the role of enzyme supplementation (β-glucanase and xylanase) in the removal of nutrient encapsulation of cell walls existing in many dietary ingredients, which leads to nutrient release and digestibility of dietary nutrients [93, 100]. Nevertheless in a previous study, the fermentation process was found very effective in detoxifying free gossypol, resulting in the improvement of the nutritional value of cottonseed meal [94]. Microbial fermentation is currently considered one of the most effective ways improvement of the nutritional value of unconventional feed via reducing anti-nutritional factors such as free gossypol [94, 102], thus enhancing the growth and health of poultry. In addition, the metabolic activities of probiotics microbials during fermentation lead to produce enzymes, vitamins, oligosaccharides, organic acids, and some other compounds, which help in improving growth performance, as well as enhancement of the nutritional value of cottonseed meal [94, 102]. Furthermore, fermentation could improve intestinal digestive enzyme activity, bacterial ecology, and intestinal morphology in broilers [85, 102]. From this, we can recommend that the fermentation process increases the amount of cottonseed meal that can be substituted for soybeans meal.
4.4 Olive pulp
Olive pulp (OP) is one of the olive oil extraction products, especially since it is rich in fatty acids (oleic, linoleic, and linolenic), crude protein, calcium, and copper [104, 105], as well as some biologically active compounds (polyphenol) that have an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties [93]. However, OP has low nutritional value due to its low energy and indigestible proteins, in addition to containing high fiber content and lignin [105, 106]. It was necessary to use some feed supplements in chicken diets containing these by-products (such as OP) to reduce anti-nutritional factors, thereby reducing their negative influence on chicken production performance.
Some studies reported that the inclusion of up to 5% of olive pulp in the diet of broiler chickens did not have a negative effect on productive performance [107]. However, the addition of 10–15% olive pulp to the broilers had a detrimental effect on the health and performance of the bird [100]. This may be due to the anti-nutritional factors in olive pulp, especially the high fiber content (NSPs), which negatively influence gut ecology and thus health in monogastric animals, beside its high content of lignin which hinders the digestibility coefficients of nutrients.
Several studies have proven that the use of some feed additives has an effective effect in improving the nutritional value of olive pulp in poultry feed such as exogenous enzymes, probiotics, organic acid, etc. [103, 105, 106]. Some previous studies results indicated that adding A. awamori as a probiotic enhanced the nutritional value of the OP in the diet, leading to an improved broiler growth performance [87]. This improvement might be due to the reduction in the anti-nutritional factor of the feed and the improvement in gut health, by the activation of several health-promoting bacteria, improving the intestinal epithelial cells structure, and selectively stimulating their growth and immune system [87], as well as stimulating the activity of some enzymes (active amylase, glucoamylase, and protease) in the digestive system [108], leading to an improvement in the metabolism of protein and carbohydrates. Likewise, several studies reported that the inclusion of citric acid in rabbits’ diets enhanced nutrient digestibility [108]. Organic acids contribute to improving nutrient digestibility by reducing antinutrients and adjusting gut pH, which stimulates the activity of beneficial microbes, reduces the number of pathogenic microbes, and reduces inflammation, thus contributing to the availability of nutrients [3, 91]. In addition, citric acid has been reported to enhance the utilization of protein and some minerals [108]. As a previous study indicated, feeding broiler chickens a diet containing olive cake (20%) and citric acid (1 g/kg) resulted in a positive effect on growth performance compared to chickens that were fed 20% olive cake without additives or control [91]. Previous studies indicate that combining olive pulp with enzymes, probiotics, or organic acids led to improves the nutritional value of olive pulp, this supports the possibility of replacing part of the diet with olive pulp.
This chapter confirms that the use of feed additives plays an important role in poultry feeding as safe alternatives to antibiotics and as improvements to the bird’s performance under conditions of heat stress. Beside their importance to improve and enhance the utilization of feed, especially nonconventional feed materials. Based on the scientific findings, which have been mentioned, the following important conclusions could be summarized as follows:
Using feed additives in the poultry diets can reduce the negative impact of heat stress on poultry via reduced heat production (fat and betaine), capable of reacting with free radicals (Vitamins A, E, and C) leading to reducing lipid peroxidation, improved antioxidant parameters (Vitamin E, C, and Zn and Se), increased antioxidant enzyme activity (plant extracts, e.g., oregano and lemon), a modulating the gut microflora (probiotic and plant extracts).
Antibiotic alternatives have analogous advantages to antibiotics to enhance the well-being and the production performance of broiler chickens without human health challenges. The major provided effects of alternative feed additives include enhance digestion, increase absorbability of nutrients, improved nutrient availability, antioxidant activity, immune-modulating, antimicrobial, improve intestinal health by enhancement of gut integrity, modulating the host gut microflora, and intestinal barrier function. Moreover, it increases body weight and carcass weight, enhances feed conversion ratio, and the gut health of broilers.
The use of nonconventional feed materials is necessary to reduce the costs of poultry feed, but some feed additives must be used to reduce the anti-nutrition factors that hinder their use in feeding poultry. This study confirmed that feed additives improved the nutritional value of many unconventional raw materials that have been already in poultry feeding under the Egyptian and marginal environmental conditions of Egypt.
Further studies must be carried out on the use of feed additives concerning their role in poultry thriftiness and the physiological responses of poultry stocks under heat-stress conditions. The recent approaches of biotechnology and its role in feed additives and the importance of food processing should also be considered.
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Written By
Ahmed El-Baz and Raafat Khidr
Submitted: 20 May 2023Reviewed: 07 June 2023Published: 18 March 2024
Open access peer-reviewed chapter - ONLINE FIRST
