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Introduction: Improving fat digestion in animal feed can reduce production costs and enhance chicken performance by decreasing the energy content of the diet. Justification: Energy is one of the most costly components in formulating diets for animals. Objective: To evaluate the digestibility of nutrients in broiler chickens from 1 to 42 days old fed diets that include lipase. Methods: The study was conducted at the Avian Experimentation Unit located in Palmira, Colombia. 560 one-day-old Cobb 500 broiler chickens were used, grouped into 5 Treatments: positive control diets according to animal requirements (CP), one negative control diet with a 35 kcal reduction (CN) from bird requirements, and three CN diets with lipase inclusion (100, 200, 300 ppm), each with 7 replicates of 16 animals per replicate. The digestibility of dry matter, ether extract, total protein, and energy was evaluated in the nutrition laboratory of the University of Applied and Environmental Sciences U.D.C.A according to AOAC methodologies. Results and Discussion: It was observed that the inclusion of 300 ppm of lipase improves the digestibility of dry matter and ether extract. Regarding energy metabolizability, the best treatment was 100 ppm of lipase. Studies have shown that lipase supplementation increases the digestibility of nutrients such as dry matter, ether extract, and gross energy in broiler chickens and can lead to better feed conversion. Conclusion: The use of 100 ppm of lipase in diets with a 35 kcal reduction in 1 to 42-day-old broiler chickens improves energy digestibility, which is higher than that of birds receiving diets with the total required energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The productivity of chickens depends, among other factors, on the functionality of the intestine, which is associated with the role of the microbiome. Botanical extracts may be able to modulate the composition of the gut microbiome. Objective: To determine the effects of botanical extracts inclusion in the diet of broiler on the cecal microbiota. Methods: Seven hundred and four one-day-old chickens were distributed into 3 experimental groups: commercial diet (CD), diet with 200 ppm grape seed extract (DSU) and diet with 200 ppm green tea extract (DTV). For DNA extraction, cecal samples were taken from chickens at 21 and 42 days of age. Sequencing of the V3/V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA was done using the Illumina platform. In the identification of the Taxonomic Units (OTUs), reference databases of the 16S rRNA marker were used. Taxonomic classification at the phylum level was done using MEGAN. The relative frequencies of the OTUs were analyzed and compared through analysis of variance and Tukey test (p<0.05). Results and Discussion: The main phyla found were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. At 21 days, no differences (P>0.05) in Bacteroidetes were observed between groups. However, Firmicutes abundance was lower (P<0.05) in chickens fed DTV (67±7.9%) than chickens fed DSU (88.3±3.8%) and DC (88.2±7.8%). On the other hand, chickens fed with DTV (1.24±0.18%; 0.7±0.02%) and DSU (2.32±0.16%; 0.8±0.04%) presented higher abundance of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria compared to chickens fed DC (0.30±0.08%; 0.5±0.01%). At 42 days, no difference (P>0.05) was observed in the abundance of the OTUs of the bacterial phyla. The bacterial microbiome can be regulated by diet, which can lead to positive effects on the productivity and health of broilers. Conclusion: Grape seed and green tea extracts induced differential changes in the cecal microbiota of broiler chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: As a strategy to be implemented in poultry feeding, photogenic additives emerge, which have positive impacts on meat quality. Objective: To evaluate the effect of natural extracts (grape and green tea) on breast meat quality. Methods: 408 one-day-old broiler chickens of the Cobb 500 line were used. The animals were randomly distributed into 3 treatments: T1: Balanced control diet according to animal requirements (BC); T2: BC + 400 ppm grape extract; T3: BC + 400 ppm green tea extract; each treatment had 8 replicates of 16 animals. To evaluate meat quality at 42 days, one bird from each replicate was selected, slaughtered, and breast samples were stored in expanded polystyrene trays covered with cling film and stored in a refrigerated showcase for 15 days. pH, texture, and lipid oxidation were evaluated using the TBARS methodology, and the data obtained were analyzed using the SAS 9.4 statistical program. Results and Discussion: When evaluating the pH evolution of the breast, a progressive increase in pH was observed (P=0.009), with birds fed grape showing greater pH stability, as well as lower texture observed in the samples of birds that received grape (P=<0.001) and green tea (P=0.008) at 15 days, indicating that the texture of these samples was softer. When evaluating oxidation, it was observed that at day zero, the lowest values were found in samples from birds fed the green tea diet (P=<0.0001), and at 15 days of storage, the lowest TBARS values were observed in samples from birds fed grape and green tea (P=<0.001), while samples from birds fed the control diet showed the highest TBARS values, indicating greater lipid peroxidation. Conclusion: The breast meat of birds fed grape and green tea extracts has better texture and lower lipid oxidation, indicating better quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Protein is one of the most expensive nutrients in balanced feed for production animals. Therefore, research on this topic seeks to reduce the economic impact on poultry farming. Objective: To evaluate the inclusion of protease produced by fermentation with Aspergillus niger in the feed of broiler chickens from 1 to 42 days, focusing on productive performance. Methods: The study was carried out at the Experimentation Unit in Palmira-Colombia, located in a thermally warm region at 1,000 meters above sea level. 960 one-day-old Cobb 500 chickens were used, grouped into 5 treatments: two control diets with a reduction in protein content by 3% (LP3) and 6% (LP6) of the birds' requirements and three diets with inclusion of protease (50, 100, 150 ppm) based on LP6, each with 8 repetitions of 24 animals per replicate, the productive performance of the birds was evaluated by analyzing live weight, feed consumption and conversion rate. Result and Discussion: When evaluating weight gain, it was observed that the birds that received the diets with 50 and 100 ppm of protease had a weight gain equal to the birds that received the diet with -3% protein, and greater than the birds that received the diet with -6% protein and those that received the diet with 150 ppm of protease. Regarding food consumption and weight gain, no differences were observed between treatments. The use of up to 100 ppm of protease in diets with 6% protein reduction can increase weight gain in broilers from 1 to 42 days, because proteases play an important role in physiological processes such as protein degradation, cell division and turnover, promoting intestinal health and reducing the colonization of pathogenic bacteria. Conclusion: Supplementing with serine protease at up to 100 ppm in diets with less than 6% protein improves weight gain of birds and can reduce production costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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