EFFICIENCY OF PHYTOGENIC FEED ADDITIVES IN IMPROVING BROILER PERFORMANCE, INTESTINAL BACTERIA AND ILEAL HISTOMORPHOLOGY.

Photogenic feed additives (PFA) have been suggested to promote broiler performance as alternative for antibiotics, which have been banned from the feed. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary PFA (Biostrong® 510) on performance of broiler chicks, ileal content of bacteria, intestinal histomorphology and blood characteristics under the environmental conditions of Saudi Arabia Kingdom. Four-hundred-day-old Ross broiler chicks were allocated to four treatment groups with five replicates of 20 birds each. For 35 days experimental period, the chicks were fed on four different experimental diets: 1) positive control diet containing 21.0% crude protein and 2850 Kcal ME; 2) positive control with 150 g/t Biostrong® 510 added to the diet; 3) negative control diet containing 20.5% crude protein and 2800 Kcal ME; 4) negative control with 150 g/t Biostrong 510®added to the diet. Dietary addition of Biostrong®510 significantly increased body weight gain and feed conversion compared to birds fed the two control diets at the second stage of growth (3-5 wk.). Photogenic feed additive supplementation significantly reduced ileal content of E. coli and increased Lactobacillus bacteria. Plasma total protein, albumin, globulin, cholesterol or triglycerides were not affected by adding Biostrong®510 into the diet. There is no significant effect on relative weight of the liver, spleen, heart or bursa of Fabricius between the different treatments. The results revealed a significant increase in villi length associated with a reduction in crypt depth due to inclusion of PFA into broiler diets. The small intestine thickness significantly reduced due to inclusion of PFA into the diet. From the current study, we can conclude that PFA supplementation has a positive effect on increasing the number of beneficial bacteria and villi length which improves nutrient digestibility and broiler performance.