Effects of dietary probiotic supplementation on promoting performance and serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in broiler chicks

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two commercially-available probiotics, based on Enterococcus faecium and Bifidobacterium genera on performance and cholesterol and triglyceride amounts of broiler chicks' sera. One hundred and fifty-six (156), day-old, Ross chicks were randomly divided into groups A, B, and C (52 each). The birds in group A received control diet during the experiment but those in groups B and C were, respectively, given control diet supplemented with Enterococcus faecium and Bifidobacterium genera probiotics based on their instruction. Each treatment had 4 replicates of 13 broilers. Twenty chicks were bled from each group on days 21, and 42 of age. The sera were assayed for  cholesterol and triglyceride levels using commercial biochemical kits. Treatment effects on broiler body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were determined on a weekly basis. The results showed that in group A, the cholesterol and triglyceride amounts increased with no significant changes until 42 days of age. In groups B and C, these amounts had a non significant decline. At first and second bleeding, the cholesterol and triglyceride amounts of B and C groups were significantly lower than group A, but there was no difference between groups B and C. The administration of these two probiotics affected positively on parameters of broiler performance compared to the control group but there was no significant difference between probiotic-treated groups. It is concluded that inclusion of probiotics based on Enterococcus faecium or Bifidobacterium genera displayed a growth-promoting effect that was comparable to control diet and also decreased the cholesterol and triglyceride components of broiler chicks' sera.

Key words: Probiotic, enterococcus faecium and bifidobacterium genera, cholesterol, triglyceride, performance, broiler chicks.