META-ANALYSIS OF PROBIOTIC (LACTOBACILLUS) ON PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AND BLOOD CHOLESTEROL OF LAYING HENS.

There are inconsistent results on the effect of dietary lactobacillus supplementation on laying performance. Therefore, this study ascertained the effect of lactobacillus supplementation on laying hen performance. A total of 348 publications were identified from a methodical search done in five databases, of which 12 met the eligibility conditions for the meta-analysis. Eligibility criteria were information on feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), egg production (EP), egg weight (EW), egg mass (EM), Haugh unit (HU), eggshell thickness (EST), egg yolk, blood cholesterol, and moderators (i.e., treatment duration, Lactobacillus spp. and supplementation dose, hen age, and strains). Data obtained were analyzed in OpenMEE software, and pooled results showed that FCR, EP, EM, HU, EST, egg yolk, blood and egg yolk cholesterol levels were better in the lactobacillus-supplemented group than the controls, taking significant heterogeneity into consideration. Furthermore, results indicate that studied moderators influenced the results of the meta-analysis and explained the variabilities across studies utilized for the meta-analysis. In conclusion, dietary lactobacillus supplementation improved feed conversion ratio, egg production, aspects of egg quality, and blood cholesterol levels in laying hens and could be added to chicken feed to boost laying performance and egg quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]