The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of dietary horsetail (Equisetum arvense) and spirulina (Spirulina platensis) supplementation on performance, egg quality, serum biochemical and antioxidant status of laying hens. A total of 648, 63-week-old Hy-Line W-36 layers were divided into nine groups with eight replicates per group (nine birds per replicate). A feeding trial was conducted under completely randomized design with factorial arrangement 3 × 3 consisting of three different dietary levels of horsetail supplementations (0, 0.25, and 0.50%, respectively) in combination with three levels of spirulina (0, 1, and 2%, respectively). Results showed that feed intake, egg production, egg weight and mass, and feed conversion ratio were not significantly affected by the dietary treatments. Eggshell thickness, strength, and yolk color were significantly improved in diets supplemented with 0.5% horsetail and 2% spirulina and their interactions. Egg yolk cholesterol was not significantly different among groups; however, a significant reduction was found when fed 2% spirulina. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentration decreased by supplementing 2% spirulina in diet; also, spirulina increased total superoxide dismutase (TSOD) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in laying hens. Overall, the findings indicated that the combination of horsetail and spirulina could have potential for improving the egg’s physical parameters, whereas spirulina was more effective in improving blood traits and oxidative status.

This research was performed to investigate the effects of milk thistle (MT), toxin binder (TB) and marine algae (Spirulina platensis; SP) on the performance, blood indices, humoral immunity and cecal microbiota of broiler chickens exposed to aflatoxin-B₁ (AFB1). A total of 300 one-day-old male chicks were equally divided into five treatments, with six replicates with 10 birds per treatment. Dietary treatments included: (T₁) a control diet (without any feed additive or AFB1); (T₂) control diet + 0.6 mg AFB₁/kg; (T₃) T₂ + 10 g/kg MT; (T₄) T₂ + 1 g/kg TB; and (T₅) T₂ + 10 g/kg SP. BWG and FI were found to be considerably reduced in broilers given AFB1-contaminated diets (p < 0.05). The FCR was negatively influenced in birds fed AFB1-contaminated diets (p < 0.05). MT, TB, and SP powders also reduced the deleterious effects of AFB1 on the growth of chickens (p < 0.05). In comparison with the control birds and the other treatments, broilers given AFB1-contaminated diets had a higher relative weight of abdominal fat (p < 0.05). The feeding of AFB1 resulted in a substantial rise in AST and ALT activity (p < 0.05). MT, TB, and SP powders significantly decreased blood AST and ALT activity in broilers (p < 0.05). The AFB1 and MT groups had the lowest skin thickness (p < 0.05) twenty-four hours after injection. The phytohemagglutinin injection results showed that the TB and SP were more efficient than the other additives in removing toxins from the feed sources (p < 0.05). The antibody titer against sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) was lower in the AFB1 group compared to the control group at 28 days of age (p < 0.05). When comparing AFB1-fed chicks to the control treatment, there was a significant (p < 0.05) concentration of cecal Coliform bacteria. When MT, TB, and SP powders were added to AFB1-contaminated diet, cecal Coliforms were decreased (p < 0.05). When fed AFB1-contaminated diets, it can be concluded that MT, TB, and SP are suitable for supporting growth performance, immunological function, and the serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of feeding Amaranthus hybridus chlorostachys grain (AG) with (+E) and without enzyme (−E) on performance, egg quality, antioxidant status and lipid profile of blood serum and yolk cholesterol in laying hens. A total of 960 white leghorn (Hy-line W-36) commercial layers (56 weeks) were divided into 10 groups with 8 replicates per group (12 birds per replicate, including 3 adjacent cages with 4 birds each). A completely randomized design was implemented with a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments consisting of five levels of AG (0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 g/kg) and two levels of multienzyme complex addition (0 −E and 0.25 +E g/kg) fed to the hens for 12 weeks (2 wk. adaptation + 10 wk. main experiment). Feed intake (FI) and percentage of hen day production (HDP) were not affected by main effect of the AG level, but egg mass (EM) and egg weight (EW) were decreased (p < 0.01), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was impaired (p < 0.01). EM, EW and FCR were improved by enzyme addition (p < 0.01). EM, EW and FCR were affected (p < 0.01) by the interaction of AG and enzyme addition. The highest value of EM and the lowest value of FCR were observed in hens on the diet containing 200 g/kg AG with enzyme addition. Egg yolk cholesterol content was reduced (p < 0.05) by up to 10% with increasing levels AG in experimental diets. The egg quality traits, including Haugh units of protein quality, strength and shell thickness, were not affected by the main effects or interaction of AG and enzyme consumption. Amaranth feeding led to a decrease (p < 0.05) in triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) while also promoting increases (p < 0.05) in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the blood. A comparison of the effects of contrasts showed that functional parameters (except FI), yolk cholesterol, antioxidant parameters (except MDA) and blood lipid profile had differed significantly (p < 0.05) between the hens fed amaranth versus those not fed amaranth. These findings indicate that feeding a diet containing up to 200 g/kg of AG with enzyme addition can improve EW, EM and FCR. Feeding laying hens diets containing AG also positively influenced blood traits and antioxidant status in laying hens while reducing egg yolk cholesterol content.