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The superiority of synbiotics in terms of their biological effects depends primarily on a suitable combination of both components, pro-biotic and pre-biotic. The present study was conducted to compare the efficacy of mono- and multistrain synbiotics on overall performance, caecal fermentation, intestinal health, meat and bone quality along with some blood biochemical indices in broilers. A total of 231, 1-day-old male Ross 308, broiler chicks were randomly assigned to three experimental groups using 11 replicates each and seven chicks/replicate. The dietary treatments included control group with no synbiotic supplementation, monostrain (Maflor) and multistrain (Maflor plus) synbiotic groups with 1 g/kg of added synbiotics each. Synbiotics feeding significantly improved animal performance with a clear impact on meat quality in terms of low-fat, optimum ultimate pH24, higher water holding capacity, and lower drip and cooking losses. Of the two synbiotics, multistrain seemed to have responded better in modifying small intestinal epithelia and fermentation metabolites, although both synbiotics were comparable in reducing the pathogen load. Load-bearing capacity of both leg bones (femur and tibia) was also enhanced with synbiotics supplementation, which was also reflected in their mineral profile. The blood serum biochemical analysis showed a reduction in circulating cholesterol and triglycerides levels and an increment in IgA and IgG concentrations. In conclusion, the remarkable efficacy of tested synbiotics in providing higher growth, better meat quality in tandem with the optimum gut environment, lower pathogen load, healthy epithelia, immunomodulation, hypocholesterolemic, and hypotriglyceridemic effects affirms their great potential to be used as feed additives in broiler diets. Contrary to our expectations, the effectiveness of a mono-strain in comparison to multistrain synbiotic in improving almost all the features investigated was also notable. Further evaluation under challenging conditions should be explicitly conducted to achieve more comprehensive results.

Waste management is the protection of the environment and the health of the population. Paper waste sludge is produced during paper production and sepiolite is a natural clay mineral. The aim of the study was to investigate the usability of sepiolite-added paper waste sludge as a bedding material in the broiler production. Two hundred eighty-eight 1-day old male broiler chicks were divided into the 6 bedding material groups (wood shavings (control), paper waste sludge, sepiolite, mix of 25% paper waste sludge and 75% sepiolite, mix of 50% paper waste sludge and 50% sepiolite, and mix of 75% paper waste sludge and 25% sepiolite) with 6 replicate pens per group. Litter quality, performance, and some welfare parameters of broilers were assessed during the 6 weeks’ period. Body weight at 42 days of age and body weight gain from 0 to 42 days of broilers reared on the wood shavings and mix of 50% paper waste sludge and 50% sepiolite were found higher than those of the sepiolite and paper waste sludge groups. Feed consumption and feed to gain ratio from 0 to 42 days, yields of carcass and carcass parts, percentages of organs and abdominal fat, IgG, percentage of bursa Fabricius, burns of foot pad and breast, litter pH and meat properties of broilers reared on the wood shavings, paper waste sludge, and sepiolite litter groups were not found to be statistically different. Litter moisture was found higher in the paper waste sludge group than that in the sepiolite group at the 42 days of rearing. As a conclusion, usage of mix of 50% paper waste sludge and 50% sepiolite as a litter does not have any negative effects on performance, welfare, and litter quality. This result is important in terms of utilizing a waste product.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of 2 graded levels (0.03 and 0.05% of diet) of a monoglyceride blend containing butyric, caprylic, and capric acids in broilers' diet for optimizing gut structure and animal growth performance. For this purpose, a total of 210, one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 3 experimental treatments using 7 replicates each and 10 birds/replicate. The treatment groups involved supplementation of blend of short and medium chain fatty acids at the level of 0, 0.03, and 0.05% of the diet for 42 d. The incorporation of mixes of monoglycerides into broilers' diet linearly improved BWG between d 0 and 21 (P = 0.034). At the end of trial, however, no significant changes were observed in performance indexes (BWG, FI, FCR). Jejunal morphometric parameters (villus height, crypt depth, and their ratio) remained unaltered with the monoglyceride supplementation on d 21. The results further showed that monoglycerides supplementation increased the goblet cell counts along the jejunal villi (P = 0.034) and crypt regions (P = 0.022), as well as it effectively modulated the mRNA abundances of tight junction protein (ZO-1, P = 0.033) and nutrient transporters (SGLT, PePT1; P = 0.005, 0.023, respectively) in the jejunum. Moreover, the downregulation in mRNA abundance of TNFα (P = 0.030) was observed with the monoglyceride supplementation. The SCFAs analysis of cecal contents showed no notable differences with monoglyceride blend supplementation when compared to the unsupplemented group. Collectively, high goblet cell numbers in the jejunum along with downregulation of the mRNA abundances of pro-inflammatory cytokines, upregulation of tight junction proteins, and nutrient transporters showed favorable responses of low doses of monoglycerides blend in broiler feeding. Further studies should be conducted in different rearing conditions to examine the effectiveness of such low levels of a monoglyceride blend in the modulation of gut structure, its functionality and animal performance.

The present study aimed to examine the influence of sepiolite on growth performance, meat quality, intestinal health, some blood parameters, and digestibility of nutrients in broilers fed low protein diets with the constant energy-protein ratio. A total of 252, daily male broiler chicks were allocated to four treatment groups further divided into 9 replicates each containing 7 chicks. Low protein diets having a constant energy-protein ratio were formulated by lowering protein and energy levels of the control group diet by 5%. Sepiolite was used at the level of 1% in the diets. After 42 days trial total feed consumption, total body weight gain, total feed conversion ratio, and carcass yield were not influenced by reducing protein, sepiolite supplementation, and interaction between low protein-low energy diet and sepiolite. Reducing protein in the diets led to reducing the digestibility of nutrients, increasing ileal viscosity, decreasing villus height, villus surface area in duodenum and jejunum, and increasing abdominal fat, ether extract, cooking losses, total oxidant status, and oxidative status index in breast meat. Sepiolite supplementation to low protein diets increased crude protein digestibility, reduced viscosity, increased villus height/crypt depth values, reduced cooking losses, and increased water holding capacity. Blood serum biochemical parameters and minerals were not affected by sepiolite supplementation to low protein diets. Therefore, it is concluded that sepiolite can be added as a beneficial supplement in broiler diets as well as in low protein diets with a constant energy-protein ratio.

The aim of this study was to evaluate some pelleting characteristics of beef cattle concentrate with added sepiolite and potassium humate alone or combined. For this purpose, one control group (basal concentrate) with no additive and five treatment groups with 1% sepiolite (S), 0.25% potassium humate (H-25), 0.50% potassium humate (H-50), 1% sepiolite + 0.25% potassium humate (SH-25) and 1% sepiolite + 0.50% potassium humate (SH-50) added as top-dressed into mixer were used. For each experimental group, a total of 36 tons of pellet concentrates were produced in six batches with 6 tons per batch. The basal pelleted concentrate included 90.29% dry matter, 14.51% crude protein, 11.76% crude fibre and 3.14% ether extract. Results showed that adding sepiolite up to 1% in beef cattle concentrate as top-dressed in mixer reduced moisture losses and improved the durability of pelleted feed. Sepiolite addition also lowered pellet water activity during storage. Adding potassium humate alone up to 0.50% was not enough to improve the pellet quality in terms of durability or water activity. Potassium humate supplementation alone or with sepiolite presented with lower moisture losses than control, and it was more evident during storage. In conclusion, the use of sepiolite in beef cattle concentrates as pellet binder seemed to be providing more durable feed pellets with lower water activity. Promising results were obtained from both the supplements in limiting the moisture losses post- pelleting and storage. Regarding the role of potassium humate as pellet binder in animal feed industry further research is needed.

This study evaluated the effects of a graded concentration of dietary calcium soaps of tallow (CST) supplementation on broiler performance, carcass characteristics, abdominal fat fatty acid profile, bone biomechanical properties, and bone mineral composition. One hundred and forty 11-d-old male broiler chickens were randomly allocated to 4 experimental groups with 5 replicate pens containing 7 birds per each. The birds received cornsoybean meal based diet and CST (CST0, CST10, CST20, and CST30, respectively) was included in the grower (0, 10, 20, and 30 g/kg) and finisher (0, 15, 30, and 45 g/kg) diet at the expense of vegetable acid oil and limestone. Dietary supplementations had no significant effect on BWG and FI during the entire experimental period. However, FCR was improved in CST0 and CST10 groups in comparison to those of the CST20 group from d 11 to d 42. According to the present study result, dietary supplementation of low level of CST significantly influenced intestinal microarchitecture of the jejunum and ileum by improving villus height/crypt ratio and villus height, respectively. Femur (P=0.001) and tibia (P=0.020) stiffness increased linearly with the increasing level of dietary CST. Tibia Ca (P=0.009) and P (P=0.009) concentration of CST10 and CST30 groups were lower than the CST0 group. Increasing levels of CST in diets significantly reduced the Fe and Mn concentrations in tibia samples. In conclusion, supplementation of CST has no detrimental effect on broiler performance parameters and might be used as an alternative dietary fat source in the broiler industry.

The aim of this study was conducted to determine the effects of sepiolite usage on pellet production parameters and pellet quality characteristics for dairy cattle concentrate feed under regular industrial conditions. In the experiment, 14 mt pellet feeds for control and two treatment groups with 7 batch each were produced in a commercial feed factory. Each batch was 2 mt. Control group feed produced contained 87.37% dry matter, 18.06% crude protein, 6.95% crude fibre and 5.34% ether extract. For the treatment groups, 1% and 1.5% sepiolite (Exal T) were used as top dressed in the mixer. Pelleting disc having 6.5 mm hole diameter was used in the factory. Energy consumption during pellet manufacturing was decreased with sepiolite supplementation (P