Blood Parameters, Digestive Organ Size and Intestinal Microflora of Broiler Chicks Fed Sorghum as Partial Substitute of Corn

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary white sorghum (WS), as partial substitute of corn on blood parameters, digestive organ size and intestinal microflora of broilers at 35 d. Cobb 500 broilers (n=400), assigned to 2 groups, were fed with isocaloric and isonitrogenous corn-soybean meal control diets (C) or corn-WS-soybean meal diets (WS), where corn was partially replaced (50%) with WS. At 35 d, sixteen broilers per group were selected for blood sampling, gastrointestinal (GIT) measurements, digesta pH and ileum microflora analysis. There was no effect (P>0.05) of the dietary WS inclusion on blood biochemistry parameters, GIT development and digesta pH of broilers. In our study, dietary WS significantly reduced the ileal population of Enterobacteriaceae (-1.38%; P<0.0001) and E. coli (-1.16%; P=0.020), and increased the Lactobacillus spp. (+1.07%; P=0.014) compared with the C diet. In conclusion, feeding white sorghum, as partial substitute of corn in broiler diets, did not affect blood parameters, digestive organ size and digesta pH, that support the obtained performance. In addition, sorghum had a positive effect of the ileal microflora increasing the beneficial bacterial Lactobacillus spp.