hassan nassiri moghaddam

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a Herbal product (Nutrition Bio-Shield Superfood® (NBS)) supplementation in diets varying in metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) contents on the internal egg quality and fatty acid profile of eggs in commercial laying hens. A total of 420 layer hens aged from 63-74 weeks were assigned to 10 treatments with 6 replicates in a completely randomized design with a 5×2 factorial arrangement with 5 dietary levels of NBS (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 g/kg diet) and 2 concentration of nutrients (standard and 5% diluted for ME and CP). The diluted diet significantly (P < 0.05) increased the shell thickness and shape index compared to the standard diet; however, it decreased shell weight and concentrations of margaric, elaidic, linoleic, docosahexaenoic, polyunsaturated fatty acids, n3, n6, and the ratio of n6:n3 fatty acids in egg yolk compared to the standard diet (P ≤ 0.05). NBS supplementation linearly decreased egg yolk myristic, margaric, and ginkgoic acids concentrations (P < 0.05). In addition, a significant interaction effect was found between diet dilution and NBS supplementation on the haugh unit, shape index, albumen percentage, and egg yolk margaric acid concentration. In general, the reduction of energy and CP in the diet of laying hens by 5% of the standard had no adverse effect on egg quality parameters.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of Nutrition Bio-Shield Superfood® (NBS) on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune response and blood metabolites in broiler chickens fed with low metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) diets. A total of 360 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were used in a 42-d experiment. The birds were allotted to 6 dietary treatments with 5 floor pen replicates of 12 birds each; based on a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments included a positive control diet (PC, standard diet), a negative control diet (NC, 3% reduction in ME and CP without NBS supplementation), and dietary supplementation of NBS at 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 g/kg to negative control diet (NBS0.5, NBS1, NBS1.5, NBS2, respectively). Body weight on d 10 and body weight gain during d 1-10 were lower (P < 0.05) in birds fed with NC and NBS diets compared to the positive control group. During later phases and d 1-42, no significant differences were observed in body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio of broilers among the treatments. Supplementation of NBS or lowering the nutrients by 3% had no significant effect on immune response (total Ig, IgG and IgM concentrations) compared to positive control group. NBS supplementation decreased muscle layer thickness (MLT) in the jejunum (P < 0.01). Villus width (WV) and MLT showed a linear response to the treatments (P = 0.02 and P = 0.02, respectively), in this case, VW increased with the supplementation of NBS at 0.5 to 2 g/kg, and MLT decreased with these levels of dietary NBS. In general, dilution of nutrients by 3% of the standard diet and dietary supplementation of NBS had no significant effect on growth performance, immune response, blood metabolites and carcass traits in broiler chickens.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of Nutrition Bio-Shield Superfood® (NBS) supplementation in diets varying in energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels on the performance of Hy-line W-36 laying hens. The experiment was performed in a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design with five dietary levels of NBS (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 g/kg of diet) and two dietary nutrient levels (standard and 5% reduced ME and CP). The experiment was conducted during 63-74 weeks of age using 420 laying hens in 10 treatments and 6 replicates of 7 birds each. The egg production was not significantly affected by diet dilution, NBS levels, and their interactions. The diet dilution, NBS powder, and their interaction did not significantly affect egg mass. Except that, it was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) by the diluted diet during 66-68 weeks of age. Feed intake (FI) was not significantly affected by diet dilution, NBS levels, and their interactions. Except that, the diluted diet significantly (P < 0.05) decreased during 66-68 weeks. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was not significantly different between standard and 5% diluted diet, among the NBS levels and the interaction means. Diluting the diet and NBS supplementation did not significantly affect blood parameters; however, diluted diet significantly increased (P = 0.05) blood LDL-c concentration compared to the standard diet. Anti-SRBC titers were not significantly affected by the diet dilution, dietary levels of NBS powder, or their interactions. The treatments did not affect eggshell strength and the eggshell Ca and P percentages. In conclusion, reducing dietary ME and CP by 5%,  adding NBS to the diet and their interaction had no significant effect on the layers' performance, immune response, blood parameters but diluting the diet increased blood LDL-c concentration.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary Nutrition Bio-Shield Superfood® (NBS) supplement on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune response, and blood metabolites in broiler chicks. A total of 360 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were used in a 42-d experiment. Based on a completely randomized design, the birds were allotted to 5 dietary treatments with 5 floor pen replicates of 12 birds each. Treatments included supplementation of 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 g/kg of NBS to a basal diet. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) during 25-42 d and 1-42 d were linearly improved (P ≤ 0.05) with increasing levels of dietary NBS. During these periods, FCR in groups that received 1 and 2 g/kg of NBS was significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation of NBS at 1 and 1.5 g/kg of the diet increased serum IgM level compared to all other treatments. Villus height (VH) and VH to crypt depth (CD) ratio showed a quadratic response to the treatments (P = 0.05 and P = 0.04, respectively), decreasing with the supplementation of 1.5 and 1 g/kg of NBS, respectively. The thickness of the muscle layer in the jejunum was increased by 2 g/kg of NBS compared to the control group. Feeding NBS had no significant effect on carcass traits and blood metabolites. In general, dietary NBS supplementation improves FCR, immune status, and jejunum histomorphology in broiler chickens.

Cereals are the main sources of calorie in poultry diets and corn is the most common cereal in poultry feed formulations; however, in some countries such as Iran, corn is mainly imported from other countries. In addition to import-associated problems, high volatility of corn price has recently resulted in a marked tendency between Iranian poultry producers to use other alternative grains in their formulations. Among the other cereals, wheat, rye, and barley are the most frequently used grains in poultry diets from which, barley is
believed to be a great alternative for corn due to its high productivity and good compatibility to the climatic conditions of the country. Barley is one of the most abundant grains raised in various areas of Iran and could be included in the formulations instead of corn. However, the extreme variability in nutrient contents observed within and between different barley varieties makes it difficult to achieve a good nutrient balance in barleycontaining diets. The energy content of feedstuffs is a topic of high importance for poultry nutritionists since birds regulate their feed intake based on dietary energy concentration. There are different methods to determine metabolizable energy (AME) content of feedstuffs including energy balance bioassay (excreta or ileal digestabased methods), referring to the standard tables describing feedstuff compositions (NRC and FEEDSTUFF tables), indirect AME determination using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique and the use of multivariate prediction equations. Energy balance bioassay is the most reliable but time-consuming and expensive method while nutritionists need relatively simpler and faster methods for accurate feed AME estimation. On the other hand, contents of standard feed-describing tables are mean values obtained in a variety of previous studies performed under climatic conditions differing fairly from those of Iran. Most researchers agree that the values presented in the tables are not reliable and generalizable due to the extensive variability of feed types and varieties. During the last decades, various AME-predicting regression equations have been suggested for different feedstuffs but the data used for exploiting the equations have been obtained from animals and feeds genetically different from the modern commercial strains and varieties. Therefore, updating the equations using animals and feeds of today seems to be necessary. This study aimed at developing prediction equations for AME of the most producing Iranian barley varieties.

Three trials were conducted to develop regression predictive equations for apparent metabolizable energy (AME) of some of the most producing Iranian barley varieties in broiler chicken diets and to compare the outputs of the equations with the AMEn values estimated by infra-red spectrophotometry (NIRS) method as well as with the values published by the national research council (NRC, 1994). In the first experiment, 10 different barley varieties were analyzed for proximate composition. Then, in the second experiment, total tract AMEn values were determined for all of the barley varieties using 10 or 24-d-old broiler chickens and chromium oxide as an indigestible marker. Results of the two first trials were used to develop AMEn-predicting equations using SPSS software and "enter" procedure. To verify the accuracies of the predictive equations, the third trial was conducted using 400 broiler chicks in a completely randomized design consisting of five treatments with four replicates of 20 birds each. The AMEn content of the barley variety used in the third experiment was estimated according to the following five procedures: 1) The AMEn recommended by NRC (1994); 2) The AMEn predicted using the equation suggested by NRC (1994); 3) The AMEn values directly estimated in the balance trial (trial 2); 4) The AMEn values predicted by the equations developed in the 2nd trial; and 5) The AMEn estimated using NIRS method.

The equations obtained for 10 and 24-d-old broilers were: AMEn= 407.87*EE+27.27*NFE and AMEn= 271*EE + 33*NFE, respectively. The results showed that the AMEn values
exploited from the equations developed in the energy balance assay produced the closest performance to that of the AMEn values estimated directly during the same trial.

According to our findings, predictive equations can be used for accurate estimating of barley AMEn value for broiler diets formulation. In addition, our results showed that the old AMEn values and AMEnpredicting equations published by NRC (1994) and FEEDSTUFF (2014) are not accurate at least for Iranian barley varieties evaluated in the present study.

The use of medicinal plants in poultry nutrition has been considerably increased in the recent years due to their beneficial effects, environmental compatibility and lack of adverse side effects. On the other hand, the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in poultry production has been banned because of their residues in poultry productions and development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The plant yucca (Yucca schidigera) belongs to agavaceae family and is native of south-western of United States and Mexico. Yucca typically grows on rocky desert slopes and creosote desert flats between 300–1,200 meters altitude, rarely up to 2,500 meters. This plant thrives in full sun and in soil with excellent drainage. It also needs no summer water. The plant is known as one of the main sources of saponins. Steroidal saponins are accounted for approximately 10% of the dry weight of Yucca stem. Saponins, the main chemical component of YS extract, exist in steroidal form, whereas they are found in a triterpenoid form in other plants, such as Quillaja saponaria. Yucca saponins have antibacterial properties. The use of Yucca schidigera extract in poultry feed is a good alternative to improve feed efficiency and increased production. Yucca extract-supplemented diets have improved growth performance, relative weight of bursa of Fabricius and reduced mortality rate, breast muscle, caecal E. coli counts in broiler chickens. In the present study, the effects of different dietary levels of a commercial product containing Yucca schidigera powder on certain variables of broiler chicks were studied.
This experiment was conducted using 250 Ross 308 broiler chicks in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and five replicates of 10 chicks each. Different dietary levels of the Yucca extract powder (0, 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, and 0.025 %) were tested in a three-stage feeding program including starter (0 to 10 days of age), grower (11 to 24 d) and finisher (25 to 42 d) phases. Blood samples were collected from one bird per replicate pen to determine the selected blood metabolites including cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) at the end of the experiment (42 days of age). On day 42, one chick per replicate was slaughtered and carcass characteristics were assessed. The effect of dietary yucca powder levels on cellular immune response was determined by a cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity test using phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P). At d 42, one bird from each replicate was selected and thickness of the interdigital skin between the third and fourth digits of both feet was measured in millimeters with a Caliper (Measurement accuracy, 0.001). Immediately after the measurement, 100 µl of the PHA-P solution and phosphate buffer saline (PBS) were injected into the interdigital skin of the left and right feet by insulin syringes, respectively. Thicknesses of the skin were measured 12h and 24h post-injection. At day 28, five chicks per treatment (1 chick/replicate) were selected and 0.5 ml of 10 % sheep red blood cell (SRBC) solution was injected into their breast muscle and after seven days (day 35) blood samples were collected from brachial vein of the birds and then, an additional injection of SRBC was performed to induce the secondary anti-SRBC humoral response. At day 42, the second series of blood samples were collected. Sera separated from blood samples and were used to evaluate anti-SRBC total (Ig T), M (Ig M) and G (Ig G) immunoglobulins.
The effect of dietary Yucca powder on feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significant (P According to results of this experiment, supplementation of 0.02% Yucca extract powder, improved growth performance of the broiler chickens. However, 0.01% Yucca extracts powder improved humoral immunity and decreased blood serum LDL concentration of broiler chickens.

The effects of hydrochloric and butyric acids supplementation to broiler chicken diets were investigated on performance, apparent protein digestibility, intestinal microbial population, carcass characteristics and intestinal histology. In these experiments, 280 male Ross 308 one-day old chicks were assigned to 7 treatments. Each treatment included 4 replicates of 10 chicks. Data were analyzed in a completely randomized design. Treatment diets consisted of dietary addition of two levels of hydrochloric acid (1.5 and 3 percent), two levels of butyric acid (0.2 and 0.4 percent) and two levels of the acids mixture (1.5 0.4 and 3 0.2 percent). One treatment with no acid supplementation was considered as control group. The results showed that addition of hydrochloric and butyric acids in grower period to the diets of broiler chicks had a significant effect on average body weight and body weight gain. The level of 3 percent hydrochloric acid caused lowest and 0.4 percent butyric acid caused highest average body weight and average daily gain in both experiments. Supplemented acids significantly affect feed intake and feed conversion ratio in the grower period. Three percent hydrochloric acid treatment and mixed of the acids (3 0.2 percent) had lowest feed intake. Acid treatments had no significant effect on microbial count of ileum, carcass characteristics and histology of the small intestine of broiler chickens. The results of current experiment showed that the use of hydrochloric acid and butyric acid in diets had no positive effect on growth performance, carcass characteristics and morphology of the small intestine of broiler chickens that were grown under experimental conditions.

The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of hydrochloric and butyric acids addition to broiler diets on performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal microbial population and intestinal histology. Two hundred eighty Ross 308 one-day old female broiler chicks were assigned to 7 dietary treatments and 4 replicates of 10 chicks in a completely randomized design. Experimental treatments consisted of dietary addition of 2 levels of hydrochloric acid (1.5 and 3 percent), 2 levels of butyric acid (0.2 and 0.4 percent) and 2 levels of the acids mixture (1.5 0.4 and 3 0.2 percent) and a treatment with no acid supplementation as control group. Dietary hydrochloric and butyric acids during grower period decreased average body weight, significantly (P

This study was conducted to investigate the synergy effect of sesame oil (SEO) and olive leaf extract (OLE) as sources of natural antioxidants of diet on the morphology of the jejunum and blood parameters of broilers from 7 to 28 days of age. One hundred fifty Ross male broilers were randomly distributed to 30 experimental units and 6 dietary treatments (5 replicates with 5 birds in each). The completely randomized design with factorial arrangement 3×2 with 3 levels of OLE (0، 120 and 240 mg/kg of diet) and 2 types of vegetable oil [crude corn oil (CRO) and SEO] were used. The experimental diets included: a corn soybean meal based diet with added CRO and without OLE supplementation، a basal diet with SEO and without OLE supplementation، a basal diet with added CRO and 120 mg/kg OLE supplementation، a basal diet with added SEO and 120 mg/kg OLE supplementation، a basal diet with added CRO and 240 mg/kg OLE supplementation and a basal diet with added SEO and 240 mg/kg OLE supplementation. Chicks fed with diet containing CRO and without OLE had the lowest lenght jejunum villi (1085 µm) (P<0. 05). Replacement of SEO with CRO in the diet resulted in a significant increase in villus width and a significant decrease in serum triglyceride levels of broilers (P<0. 05). The inclusion of OLE in diet significantly decreased the serum glucose and malondialdehyde (P<0. 05). It demonstrated that concurrent use of OLE and SEO in broiler diets from 7 to 28 days of age، could be positively influence on blood parameters and gastrointestinal health due to their strong antioxidant compounds.

Effect of different sources of fat on performance of broiler chicks was studied. Three hundred and thirty six chicks were divided into 42 groups of 8 chicks per group. Seven isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets, mainly based on corn and soybean meal were prepared and fed. These treatments were as follows: corn + soybean meal + (5% tallow, 5% cotton seed crude oil, 5% cotton seed soapstock, 2.5% tallow + 2.5% crude oil, 2.5% tallow + 2.5% soapstock, or 2.5% crude oil + 2.5% soapstock). One control diet without any source of fat was also included. Results showed that average feed intake of diets with different sources of fat up to 56 days old, was not differed from control group. Different sources of fat and their combinations increased weight gain and improved feed conversion. But soapstock had no effect on performance. Added fats increased abdominal fat of chickens. Therefore, if is concluded that on the contrary to soapstock, tallow and crude oil enhanced performance of broiler chickens.