RT Journal T1 EFFECTS OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION OF SYNBIOTICS ON GROWTH, INTESTINAL BARRIER FUNCTION AND CECAL MICROORGANISMS OF CHERRY VALLEY DUCKS A1 R. X. Wang A1 Z. W. Chen A1 R. Chen A1 Q. Liu A1 S. Zhuang JF Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences JO JAPS SN 1018-7081 VO 32 IS 2 SP 403 OP 412 YR 2022 FD 2022/03/15 DO DOI https://doi.org/10.36899/JAPS.2022.2.0437 AB

The present study was set out to explore the effects of diets supplemented with synbiotics, as a possible antibiotic substitute, on growth performance, intestinal barrier function and cecal microorganisms of Cherry Valley ducks. Briefly, a total of 540 Cherry Valley ducks (one-day-old) were randomly categorized into 3 groups for 42 days: control group (basal diets free from the antibiotic), antibiotic group (basal diets supplemented with 40 mg/kg bacitracin zinc), and synbiotic group (basal diets supplemented with 1 000 mg/kg synbiotic). Each group consisted of 6 replicates of 30 ducks each. In synbiotic group, average-day-gain (ADG) throughout the trial period (p<0.05) and average-day-feed-intake (ADFI) during the starter and grower periods (p<0.05) were increased as compared with the control group. Moreover, dietary synbiotics enhanced ileal villus height to crypt depth (V/C), decreased ileal crypt depth compared with the control group (p<0.05). In addition, the synbiotics increased numbers of Intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) and goblet cells in the small intestine(p<0.05), and secretory IgA (sIgA) concentration in the duodenum and jejunum (p<0.05) of 42-day-old ducks as compared with the control group. Furthermore, synbiotics supplementation increased the mRNA expression of jejunal mucosal occluding (OCLN) and the population of Bifidobacterium in cecal chyme (p<0.05). In conclusion, diets supplemented with synbiotics could improve growth performance and intestinal morphology, enhance intestinal barrier function, and modulate the cecal microorganisms in Cherry Valley ducks.

K1 synbiotic, Cherry Valley ducks, growth performance, intestinal barrier function, cecal microorganisms PB Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum LK https://thejaps.org.pk/AbstractView.aspx?mid=AS-20-0130