Gizzard Of Chicken Research Articles

Evaluation of therapeutic potentials of plant extracts against poultry bacteria threatening public health.

BackgroundPlant extracts were evaluated on poultry bacteria known to be threatening public health. This is to develop better bio-therapeutic agents from plant origin.MethodsBacteria were isolated from water, feed, crop, gizzard and faeces of layer chicken. Isolates of interest (Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella oxytoca) were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility test. Resistant strains were further evaluated against different plant extracts in comparison to Meropenem (control) using agar diffusion method.Results E. coli had the highest occurrence (53 %), followed by P. aeruginosa (25 %) and then S. enteritidis (13 %) while the least was K. oxytoca (9 %). Virtually all the isolates exhibited multi-antibiotic resistance (MAR) with gross resistance to Amoxicillin, Erythromycin and Cefuroxine. P. aeruginosa (75 %), S. enteritidis (75 %) and E. coli (63 %), had the highest MAR. Out of the 11 (100 %) plant extracts evaluated, 7 (64 %) were outstanding and showed varied levels of antibacterial activity. Specifically, methanol extract of Mangifera indica Julie cultivar leaf (MJLM) had the highest antibacterial activity, followed by Euadenia trifoliata stem bark (TB03) and Euadenia eminens leaf (TB05). P. aeruginosa was highly susceptible (81.81 %) to the extracts, followed by S. enteritidis (63.64 %) and then E. coli (27.27 %).ConclusionsMJLM and other extracts have proven to be promising extracts in which to search for bioactive components that can be developed into therapeutic drugs. This may help in the management of antibiotic resistant bacterial isolates from poultry chicken threatening public health.

Effect of Linoleic Acid Supplimentation on Growth of Broiler

In order to examine the effect of different levels of linoleic acid supplementation, study was carried out to evaluate the performance of broiler chicken in response to linoleic acid supplement at the Poultry Experiment Station, Department of Poultry Husbandry, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam. 150 Broiler chicken birds were equally divided in to five groups; A, B, C, D and E where the linoleic acid was supplemented in feed at the rates of 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 % in feed, respectively. The feed intake of broiler chicken fed with 0.2% linolenic acid supplemented ration was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of 0, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8% addition of linolenic acid in ration. Significant (P<0.05) impact of different levels (0.8, 0.6, 0.4 and 0.2%) of linolenic acid supplementation was noted on weight gain, FCR, final weight, carcass yield and weight of giblets; liver, heart and gizzard of broiler chicken, except dressing percent which is not affected by the supplementation of linoleic acid with basal diet.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Astaxanthin on Histamine Induced Lesions in the Gizzard and Proventriculus of Broiler Chicks.

Astaxanthin (ASX) is a xanthophyll pigment isolated from crustaceans and salmonids. Owing to its powerful antioxidant activity, ASX has been reported to have the potential to protect against gastric ulcers and a variety of other illnesses. Histamine (His) is a dietary factor that causes gastric erosion and ulceration in young chicks. In this study, we examined whether ASX had protective effects on dietary histamine-induced lesions in the gizzard and proventriculus of broiler chickens. Four experimental treatment groups were planned: basal diet (BD), BD+His, BD+ASX, and BD+ASX+His, with four chicks (5 days old) in each group and three replications (i.e., a total of 12 chicks per group). The BD was supplemented with either 0.4% His or 100 ppm ASX. The birds were fed ad libitum for 3 weeks, and diets contained no antimicrobial compounds. Supplementing the diet with His significantly decreased body weight gain, but increased the weights of the gizzard and proventriculus of the chicks as compared with those of chicks in the BD group (p<0.05). ASX did not affect His-dependent changes in chick body weight or weights of the gizzard and proventriculus. The loss of gastric glands in the proventriculus, which was observed in His-treated chicks, was not prevented by ASX administration. The frequency of proventricular ulceration, however, was lowered by treatment with ASX, without significant differences between the two supplementation levels. In conclusion, our data showed that ASX might be helpful for alleviating structural damage to the digestive system in poultry under certain stressful conditions.

Effects of Graded Dietary L-arginine Supply on Organ Growth in Four Genetically Diverse Layer Lines during Rearing Period.

Little information has been available about the influence of genetic background and dietary L-arginine (Arg) supply on organ growth of chickens. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of a graded ad libitum Arg supply providing 70, 100 and 200% of recommended Arg concentration on organ growth of female chickens from hatch to 18 weeks of age. The chickens derived from four layer lines of different phylogeny (white vs. brown) and laying performance (high vs. low). Based on residual feed and absolute body and organ weights recorded in six-week-intervals, feed consumption, changes of relative organ weights and allometric organ growth were compared between experimental groups.Surplus Arg caused higher feed intake than insufficient Arg (p<0.01) that induced growth depression in turn (p <0.05). During the entire trial chicken's heart, gizzard and liver decreased relatively to their body growth (p<0.001) and showed strong positive correlations among each other. On the contrary, proportions of pancreas and lymphoid organs increased until week 12 (p<0.001) and correlated positively among each other. Due to their opposite growth behaviour (p<0.001), internal organs were assigned to two separate groups. Furthermore, insufficient Arg induced larger proportions of bursa, gizzard and liver compared with a higher Arg supply (p<0.05). In contrast to less Arg containing diets, surplus Arg decreased relative spleen weights (p<0.01). The overall allometric evaluation of data indicated a precocious development of heart, liver, gizzard, pancreas and bursa independent of chicken's genetic and nutritional background. However, insufficient Arg retarded the maturation of spleen and thymus compared with an adequate Arg supply.In conclusion, the present results emphasised the essential function of Arg in layer performance, and indicated different sensitivities of internal organs rather to chicken's dietary Arg supply than to their genetic background.

Response of growth and digestive organs development of Pelung x Kampung crossbred chicken to dietary proteins

More information on the performance of local breed of chicken encourages more exploration on early digestive tract development of Pelung x Kampung cross chicken. One hundred and sixty day-old chicks (doc) of Pelung x Kampung crossbred were sexed and allocated to two different dietary proteins of 15 or 19% with the same level of dietary energy (2900 kcal/kg) and other nutrients according to levels suggested for light high breed chicken. Rations, in a form of mash, and water provided ad libitum during the 28 days of observation. Body weight and feed consumption were recorded weekly. Thirty-two day old chickens were sacrificed for digestive track analysis, then two chickens obtained from each trial replicate were also sacrificed at day 7, 14, 21 and 28, following at least 3 hours of starvation to clear the tract from remaining digesta. The cut organs (crop, proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and caecum) were separated and cleaned carefully from digesta with tissue paper prior to weighing. Number of birds in each cage was rearranged to keep the number relatively the same throughout the replicates every week after sacrificing. Higher body weight of young chicken to 19% dietary protein compared to 15% dietary protein was shown at 28 days of age. Gizzard, duodenum, jejunum and ileum developments of male chicks were significantly higher than that of females when the chicks reached the age of 28 day. Generally the relatif weight of duodenum and jejunum were relatively higher than the development of growth or development of other digestive organ segmens. Response of other observed parameters other than mentioned above to dietary protein nor sex were not significantly different at any other ages. Key words: Pelung x Kampung crossbred chicken, growth, digestive organs developments, dietary proteins

APOBEC2 mRNA and protein is predominantly expressed in skeletal and cardiac muscles of chickens

Apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic subunit 2 (APOBEC2) plays an important role in regulating and maintaining muscle development in mammals. In this study, we evaluated APOBEC2 mRNA abundance and protein expression and the results indicated that APOBEC2 mRNA was most abundant in skeletal and cardiac muscle, with relatively low expression in the gonads, gizzard and subcutaneous fat tissues of chickens. Immunoreactive APOBEC2 was localized to the cell nucleus of developing myocardium and skeletal myofibers. There were significant differences in mRNA and protein abundance among ages, tissues, and between males and females. In conclusion, APOBEC2 was expressed as the greatest in skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle where it localized to the nucleus. Thus, APOBEC2 may play an important role in muscle development in chickens.

Effects of oregano or red pepper essential oil supplementation to diets for broiler chicks with delayed feeding after hatching. 1. Performance and microbial population

SUMMARY This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of oregano or red pepper essential oil on the performance, digestive organs, serum biochemistry parameters, and microbial population of the small intestine of broilers with immediate, or 24- or 48-h posthatching delayed access to diet and water. The dietary treatments included (1) a nonsupplemented corn-soybean meal diet (CONT), (2) CONT + 250 mg/kg of oregano essential oil (OO250), and (3) CONT + 250 mg/kg of red pepper essential oil (RPO250). Irrespective of dietary treatment, especially delayed access to diet and water for 48 h posthatch significantly decreased daily BW gain from 0 to 21 d and daily feed intake from 4 to 21 d and increased the relative weight of the yolk sac at 3 d of broilers. The relative weight of the liver or gizzard of chickens at 21 d was significantly decreased by delayed access to diet and water for 24 h posthatch. The diet containing RPO250 significantly increased the relative weight of the pancreas at 21 d. Delayed access to diet and water for 24 or 48 h posthatch significantly reduced serum glucose levels at 21 d. The serum aspartate aminotransferase level in broilers given immediate access to feed and water was significantly decreased by the diet containing RPO250. Generally, the coliform bacteria and total yeast contents of the small intestine of chickens were significantly increased by extending the time to access to feed and water for broilers. Total aerobic bacteria contents of the small intestine of broilers with immediate, or 24- or 48-h posthatching delayed access to diet and water was significantly decreased by CONT, OO250, and RPO250 diets.

Isolation of coagulase negative Enterococcous sp. strains from non-broiler chicken producing bacteriocin active against Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from the bile, gizzard, intestine and caecum of the Malaysian domestic non-broiler chicken. Of the 56 isolates grown on MRS agar plates, 7 - namely, B3L3, B4L4, G5L5, B5L6, B10L7, I1L8, and C4L10 - showed inhibition against the methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These isolates were all Gram positive cocci, non-spore forming, and catalase negative. The purified fraction from the three phase partitioning (TPP) method, employing t-butanol and ammonium sulfate, produced inhibitory zones of 8 to 18 mm in diameter on the indicator organism, Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The TPP purified fraction contained heat stable proteins of about 10 kDa in size and was inactivated by trypsin. Based on the partial rDNA sequences (&gt;89% similarity), isolates B4L4 and G5L5 belonged to Enterococcus hirae; isolate B3L3 belonged to Enterococcus faecium; isolates B5L6, B10L7, I1L8 to Enterococcus faecalis; and isolate C4L10 to Enterococcus mundtii. These probiotic strains, exclusively isolated from the Malaysian non-broiler chicken, produced an antimicrobial protein or bacteriocin which was active against a pathogenic strain of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Atrogin-1/MAFbx, a Muscle-Specific Ubiquitin Ligase, Is Highly Expressed in the Smooth Muscle of the Chicken Gizzard

This study was conducted to investigate the expression of atrogin-1/MAFbx, a muscle-specific ubiquitin ligase, in the smooth muscle of the chicken gizzard. Atrogin-1/MAFbx mRNA expression was detected in the skeletal muscle, heart (cardiac muscle), gizzard (smooth muscle), brain, and liver of chicks, with highest expression in the smooth muscle of the gizzard. The expression of atrogin-1/MAFbx mRNA in the smooth muscle of the gizzard was increased by fasting (24 h), and this increase was reduced by refeeding (2 h). These results indicate that atrogin-1/MAFbx mRNA is highly expressed in the smooth muscle of the chicken gizzard, and that the expression of it is regulated by nutritional conditions.

AFLATOXIN B1 RESIDUES IN EGGS AND FLESH OF LAYING HENS FED AFLATOXIN B1 CONTAMINATED DIET

Aflatoxin B1(AFB1) and total Aflatoxins (AFT) contaminated feed effect on aflatoxins residue level in eggs, muscles (breast, leg), organs (liver, kidney, gizzard) and excreted aflatoxins in chicken litter of layer hens were monitored. Laying hens were on four level s of aflatoxins for 6 weeks and monitored weekly fo r the change in both AFB1 and AFT levels. Pronouncedly, the AFB1 and AFT were detected in eggs, muscles (legs, breast), organs (liver, kidney and g izzard) and litter in noticeable amounts. Total Aflatoxin (AFT) level was lowest in chicken breast (0.63 ppb) and highest in liver (2.12 ppb) and gizzard (1.22 ppb) of chicken fed diet with 965.12 ppb. Whereas, AFB1 residue was 0.66 ppb in eggs, 1.59 ppb in liver tissues of hens given feed contam inated with 894.12 ppb. Residue level of AFB1 was high in liver and kidney of all treatments. The chi cken breast tissues were lowest in AFB1 and AFT of values 0.72 and 0.63, respectively. Eggs production was significantly (p<0.05) affected with AFB1 contaminated feed and egg production was decreased by more than 30%.

Quantitative Determination of Cd and Pb in Tissues and Organs of Chickens Raised in El-Jabel Alakhder Region—Libya

This study was carried out to determine the concentration of Cd, and Pb in the tissues of thigh, breast, liver, heart, gizzard, neck and skin of chicken. All samples were collected in the summer of 2004 from three different commercial farms of chickens production located in different areas of EL-Jabal Alakhder region at Libya country (Gernada, EL-Abrak and Sousa). For comparison, the metals were also determined in the same tissues of the chickens which produced in the national station of poultry production at EL-Akhoria city. The metals in the chickens feed and in water for both drinking and cleaning inside the slaughter house were also determined. The results revealed that the highest concentrations of Cd were found in neck, liver and heart while the neck and skin tissues contained the highest level of Pb. However, the tissues of thigh and breast flesh had the lowest level of metals. The levels of Cd in the different tissues ranged from 0.008 to 0.227 ppm and from 0.093 to 2.391 ppm for Pb. The results revealed that the levels of Cd in neck from all farms, liver from both EL-Akhoria and Gernada farms. Levels of Pb in the neck and skin from all farms were exceeding the permitted limits according to some European regulations. The results also indicate that the high concentrations of Cd in some tissues were due to the effect of high levels of these metals in the feed of birds. However the drinking and cleaning water had no effects on the level of the metals in the different tissues.

Natural sepiolite efficiency in reducing 137Cs transfer and deposition into meat and edible organs of broiler chickens

The objectives of the present study were to examine the level of radiocesium deposit in meat and edible organs of broiler chickens as well as to investigate efficiency of natural sepiolite in reducing 137Cs deposition in meat, liver and gizzard of alimentary contaminated broiler chickens. Broiler chickens (six weeks of age) were fed with the standard diet and each broiler was given a single oral dose of 137Cs, total activity of 3750 Bq. The broilers were divided into two groups (10 broilers per group). The group 1 was control (received only radiocesium). The broilers of the group 2, in addition to radiocesium received natural sepiolite solution (2 g sepiolite per bird). After 24 hours, all broilers, from each group, were stunned and killed. The samples of meat, (breast and legs), liver and gizzard were taken from each broiler, for gamma spectrometry determination of radiocesium activity. After 24 hours of contamination, 56 % of introduced 137Cs radioactivity was deposited in the meat (breast and legs muscles), 1 % in the liver and 2,4 % in the gizzard of broiler chickens 42 days of age. Natural sepiolite demonstrated insufficient protective action. Compared to the control group, percentage reduction (decreasing percentage) of 137Cs deposition in meat was 16%, in liver 5% and in gizzard 12%.

Crescimento e deposição de nutrientes nos órgãos de frangos de corte de duas linhagens comerciais

O objetivo neste trabalho foi estudar o perfil de crescimento e a deposição de nutrientes nos órgãos (coração, fígado, moela, intestino e proventrículo) de frangos de corte das linhagens Ross e Cobb de ambos os sexos. Foram utilizados 1.920 pintos de 1 dia alojados em boxes de galpão experimental em piso. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 2 × 2, composto de dois sexos (machos e fêmeas) e duas linhagens (Ross e Cobb), com quatro repetições de 120 aves. As aves foram alimentadas com rações formuladas de acordo com suas exigências nutricionais em cada fase de criação. Os pesos dos órgãos e de seus componentes (água, cinzas, proteína e gordura) foram obtidos semanalmente, com os parâmetros estimados pela equação de Gompertz e as taxas de crescimento determinadas por meio das derivadas das equações. Não houve influência da linhagem nas taxas de crescimento e deposição de nutrientes no coração. As aves Ross foram mais precoces no crescimento e na deposição de água e cinzas no fígado, portanto apresenta maior atividade metabólica na digestão e síntese de nutrientes. A linhagem Cobb foi mais precoce no desenvolvimento do intestino e crescimento e na deposição de nutrientes no proventrículo. Os machos são mais precoces que as fêmeas na taxa de crescimento e deposição de proteína, gordura e água na moela.

Effects of Aspergillus niger-fermented Terminalia catappa seed meal-based diet on selected enzymes of some tissues of broiler chicks

Effects of Aspergillus niger-fermented Terminalia catappa seed meal-based diet on the activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and gamma-glutamate transferase (γ-GT) in the crop, small intestine, gizzard, heart, liver and serum of broiler chicks were investigated. Milled T. catappa seed was inoculated with spores of A. niger (2.21 × 10 4 spores per ml) for 3 weeks. Forty-five day-old broiler chicks weighing between 27.62 and 36.21 g, were divided into three groups. The first group was fed soybean-based (control) diet; the second on raw T. catappa seed meal-based diet; and the third on A. niger-fermented T. catappa seed meal-based diet for 7 weeks. The results revealed a significantly increased ( p < 0.05) activity of ALP in the tissues. Contrarily, there were significant reductions ( p < 0.05) in the activities of ALP, ALT, AST and γ-GT in the liver and heart of the broilers fed the raw T. catappa seed meal-based diet while there were significant increase ( p < 0.05) in the activities of these enzymes in the serum of the broilers in this group. The data obtained showed that A. niger-fermented T. catappa seed meal reduced the toxic effects of the raw seed meal on the tissues of broiler chicks.

Stomach stones in king penguin chicks

Many animals that possess a gizzard swallow stones or sandy grit, supposedly to aid in the mechanical breakdown of food. While this has been well documented in the literature, our study is the first to report the presence of stones in the gizzard of king penguin chicks. We found stones, so called ‘gastroliths’, in the pyloric region of the gizzard, the part of the digestive tract that is specialised for the mechanical breakdown of food. Stones were already present in the gizzard of chicks and, hence, during the first year of the life of king penguins, which is spent on land. Some chicks were found to have more than 130 stones (0.5–22 mm in size) in their gizzard. The gastroliths we found in king penguins are of the same geological origin as rocks present at the colony, which suggests that birds swallowed them there. The functional role of gastroliths in penguin chicks and adults is still unknown. We discuss the potential roles that these gastroliths might play in king penguins (i.e. aid in digestion, buoyancy control during foraging at sea, adaptation to fasting).

Histopathological changes observed in the heart and gizzard of quail chicks Coturnix coturnix japonica administrated by the different levels of chrome shaving

The present study showed the effects of different levels of tannery wastes or chrome shaving on quail hicks up to 9 months. The chrome shaving was given at 2.5 and 5% levels in replacement of animal proteins in chicks feed commercially available. Heart and gizzard were selected for the histopathological studies and effects of different levels were studied in these tissues. Histopathological changes like splitting of muscle, vacuolation, necrosis, pyknosis, and loss of striation and degeneration in heart and gizzard of quail chicks were observed and more pronounced at 5% chrome shaving levels compared to 2.5% level in last 3 weeks. These changes were time and dose dependent.

The Expression Characterization of Chicken Uncoupling Protein Gene

The UCPs are members of the mitochondrial inner membrane transporter family, present in the mitochondrial inner membrane. Their main function is increasing the energy expenditure via diminishing the resulting production of ATP from mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation instead of yielding dissipative heat. They are associated with the metabolism of fat and regulation of energy expenditure. The UCP gene can be viewed as the candidate gene for chicken fatness. In the present study, RT-PCR and Northern Blot methods were developed to investigate the expression of the UCP gene in ten tissues including heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, gizzard, intestine, brain, breast muscle and abdominal fat of chicken. The results of both RT-PCR and Northern Blot methods showed that the UCP gene expressed specific in breast muscle. The expression levels of UCP gene in breast muscles from egg-type and meat-type chickens of hatching, 2, 4, 6 and 8 wk of age were detected by RT-PCR assay and results showed that the expression levels of UCP gene were related to breeds. Expression level of UCP gene in layers was higher than that in broilers at various weeks of age except at 6 wk. The UCP gene's expression was higher at 6 wk and had no significant difference among other weeks of age in broilers; in layers the expression level of UCP gene had no significant difference among weeks of age. The experiment results also showed that insulin could increase the expression level of UCP gene by 40% compared with control group.

Nutritional and Tissue Specificity of IGF-I and IGFBP-2 Gene Expression in Growing Chickens - A Review -

Nutritional regulation of gene expression associated with growth and feeding behavior in avian species can become an important technique to improve poultry production according to the supply of nutrients in the diet. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) found in chickens has been characterized to be a 70 amino acid polypeptide and plays an important role in growth and metabolism. Although it is been well known that IGF-I is highly associated with embryonic development and post-hatching growth, changes in the distribution of IGF-I gene expression throughout early- to late-embryogenesis have not been studied so far. We revealed that the developmental pattern of IGF-I gene expression during embryogenesis differed among various tissues. No bands of IGF-I mRNA were detected in embryonic liver at 7 days of incubation, and thereafter the amount of hepatic IGF-I mRNA was increased from 14 to 20 days of incubation. In eyes, a peak in IGF-I mRNA levels occurred at mid-embryogenesis, but by contrast, IGF-I mRNA was barely detectable in the heart throughout all incubation periods. In the muscle, no significant difference in IGF-I gene expression was observed during different stages of embryogenesis. After hatching, hepatic IGF-I gene expression as well as plasma IGF-I concentration increases rapidly with age, reaches a peak before sexual maturity, and then declines. The IGF-I gene expression is very sensitive to changes in nutritional conditions. Food-restriction and fasting decreased hepatic IGF-I gene expression and refeeding restored IGF-I gene expression to the level of fed chickens. Dietary protein is also a very strong factor in changing hepatic IGF-I gene expression. Refeeding with dietary protein alone successfully restored hepatic IGF-I gene expression of fasted chickens to the level of fed controls. In most circumstances, IGF-I makes a complex with specific high-affinity IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs). So far, four different IGFBPs have been identified in avian species and the major IGFBP in chicken plasma has been reported to be IGFBP-2. We studied the relationship between nutritional status and IGFBP-2 gene expression in various tissues of young chickens. In the liver of fed chickens, almost no IGFBP-2 mRNA was detected. However, fasting markedly increased hepatic IGFBP-2 gene expression, and the level was reduced after refeeding. In the gizzard of well-fed young chickens, IGFBP-2 gene expression was detected and fasting significantly elevated gizzard IGFBP-2 mRNA levels to about double that of fed controls. After refeeding, gizzard IGFBP-2 gene expression decreased similar to hepatic IGFBP-2 gene expression. In the brain, IGFBP-2 mRNA was observed in fed chickens and had significantly decreased by fasting. In the kidney, IGFBP-2 gene expression was observed but not influenced by fasting and refeeding. Recently, we have demonstrated in vivo that gizzard and hepatic IGFBP-2 gene expression in fasted chickens was rapidly reduced by intravenous administration of insulin, as indicated that in young chickens the reduction in gizzard and hepatic IGFBP-2 gene expression in vivo stimulated by malnutrition may be, in part, regulated by means of the increase in plasma insulin concentration via an insulin-response element. The influence of dietary protein source (isolated soybean protein vs. casein) and the supplementation of essential amino acids on gizzard IGFBP-2 gene expression was examined. In both soybean protein and casein diet groups, the deficiency of essential amino acids stimulated chickens to increase gizzard IGFBP-2 gene expression. Although amino acid supplementation of a soybean protein diet significantly decreased gizzard IGFBP-2 mRNA levels, a similar reduction was not observed in chickens fed a casein diet supplemented with amino acids. This overview of nutritional regulation of IGF-I and IGFBP-2 gene expression in young chickens would serve for the establishment of the supply of nutrients to diets to improve poultry production. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2005. Vol 18, No. 5 : 747- 754)

Exogenous phytase activity in the gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens

The aim of the study was to utilize Western blot and activity stain to detect the activity of phytase in different gastrointestinal segments of broiler chickens fed diets containing exogenous phytase. Three hundred day-old broilers (Arbor Acres) were selected and randomly allocated to three dietary treatment groups, with 12 replicates per treatment group. Two-phased diets were used. The grower and finisher diet was fed from 0 to 3 weeks and 4 to 6 weeks of age, respectively. A control diet containing adequate nonphytate phosphorus (NPP) was formulated. The control diet was reformulated to contain 1 g less NPP per kg diet to which 0 (low-NPP diet) or 750 U (phytase diet) of exogenous phytase per kg diet was added. Broilers fed the low-NPP diet gained weight slower ( P < 0.05) than the other treatment groups. However, broilers fed the control diet gained weight at a rate similar ( P > 0.05) to those fed the phytase diet. The normal spectrophotometer method failed to detect exogenous phytase activity in the diet or in the digesta of broiler chickens fed the phytase diet. Exogenous phytase protein was detected in the phytase diet as well as in the digesta of crop, gizzard, duodenum and jejunum of broiler chickens fed the phytase diet. On the other hand, the activity stain detected phytase protein in all gastrointestinal segments with the exception of jejunum and ileum. The result of the study suggests that phytase activity in the digesta of the broiler gastrointestinal tract resulting from exogenous phytase supplementation in the diet can be detected and quantified by the Western blot and activity stain.

Passage of Salmonella through the crop and gizzard of broiler chickens fed with fermented liquid feed

In vivo experiments were conducted in order to investigate the passage and bacterial reduction of Salmonella in the crop and gizzard of chickens when fed two different feeds. The chickens were fed dry conventional feed and fermented liquid feed. The fermented feed contains a relatively high concentration of lactic and acetic acid and lactobacilli. One and three week old broiler chickens were necropsied at short intervals after inoculation with Salmonella Enteritidis. Counts of Salmonella from the crop, gizzard, duodenum, caecum and colon/rectum were obtained. This revealed a sharper decrease of Salmonella in the anterior parts of the gastro-intestinal tract in chickens fed with fermented feed than in chickens fed dry feed. It is therefore concluded that fermented feed improves the barrier formed by the crop and gizzard. The reduction of Salmonella is fully realised in the crop and gizzard. The lower intestinal compartment did not show a substantial effect on the reduction of Salmonella. The performed in vivo method appeared to be an appropriate way to study intervention strategies that aim to control Salmonella by improving the barrier function of the upper gastro-intestinal tract.