This review focuses on the metabolic and osmoregulatory functions of betaine and its impact on nutrient digestibility and performance in pigs and poultry. Betaine is the trimethyl derivative of the amino acid glycine, and is present in plant and animal tissue. It has been shown to play an important role in osmoregulation of plants, bacteria and marine organisms. Due to its chemical structure, betaine exerts a number of functions both at the gastrointestinal and metabolic level. As a methyl group donor, betaine is involved in transmethylation reactions and donates its labile methyl group for the synthesis of several metabolically active substances such as creatine and carnitine. Therefore, supplementation of betaine may reduce the requirement for other methyl group donors such as methionine and choline. Beneficial effects on intestinal cells and intestinal microbes have been reported following betaine supplementation to diets for pigs and poultry, which have been attributed to the osmotic properties of betaine. Furthermore, betaine potentially enhances the digestibility of specific nutrients, in particular fiber and minerals. Moreover, at the metabolic level, betaine is involved in protein and energy metabolism. Growth trials revealed positive effects of supplemental betaine on growth performance in pigs and poultry, and there is evidence that betaine acts as a carcass modifier by reducing the carcass fat content. In conclusion, due to its various metabolic and osmoregulatory functions, betaine plays an important role in the nutrition of monogastric animals.

Objective: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of dietary essential oils (EOs) on productive performance, nutrient digestibility, and serum metabolite profiles of broiler chickens and to compare their effectiveness as growth-promoting additives against antibiotics.Methods: Peer-reviewed articles were retrieved from Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, and Google scholar and selected based on pre-determined criteria. A total of 41 articles containing 55 experiments with 163 treatment units were eligible for analyses. Data were subjected to a meta-analysis based on mixed model methodology considering the doses of EOs as fixed effects and the different studies as random effects.Results: Results showed a linear increase (p<0.001) on body weight gain (BWG) where Antibiotics (FCR) and average daily feed intake decreased (p<0.001) linearly with an increasing dose of EOs. Positive effects were observed on the increased (p<0.01) digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, and cecal Lactobacillus while Escherichia coli (E. coli) population in the cecum decreased (p<0.001) linearly. There was a quadratic effect on the weight of gizzard (p<0.01), spleen (p<0.05), bursa of fabricius (p<0.001), and liver (p< 0.10) while carcass, abdominal fat, and pancreas increased (p<0.01) linearly. The dose of EOs linearly increased high density lipoprotein, glucose, protein, and globulin concentrations (p<0.01). In comparison to control and antibiotics, all type of EOs significantly reduced (p<0.001) FCR and tended to increase (p<0.1) BWG and final body weight. Cinnamaldehyde-compound was the only EOs type showing a tendency to increase (p<0.1) carcass weight, albumin, and protein of serum metabolites while this EOs together with EOs-Blend 1 decreased (p<0.01) E. coli population. Low density lipoprotein concentration decreased (p<0.05) with antibiotics and carvacrol-based compound when compared to the control group.Conclusion: This evidence confirms that EOs are suitable to be used as growth promoters and their economical benefit appears to be promising.

Tujuan pengabdian ini adalah memberikan pelatihan dan praktek pembuatan pupuk organik dari kotoran ternak di Desa Kaliboto, Kecamatan Mojogedang, Kabupaten Karanganyar. Kompos merupakan pupuk organik yang berasal dari sisa tanaman dan kotoran hewan yang telah mengalami proses dekomposisi atau pelapukan. Bahan pembuatan pupuk kompos pada umumnya menggunakan kotoran sapi. Keunggulan dari pupuk kompos ini adalah ramah lingkungan, dapat menambah pendapatan peternak dan dapat meningkatkan kesuburan tanah dengan memperbaiki kerusakan fisik tanah akibat pemakaian pupuk anorganik secara berlebihan. Kelompok Tani Desa Kaliboto merupakan kelompok tani yang beternak sapi potong jenis sekaligus melakukan penanaman padi di sawah. Limbah kotoran ternak yang dihasilkan dari kelompok tani tersebut belum diolah secara maksimal untuk digunakan sebagai pupuk organik pada lahan pertanian. Selama ini, petani masih mengandalkan pupuk kimia sebagai sumber utama pupuk. Penggunaan pupuk kimia secara berkepanjangan dapat menyebabkan kerusakan fisik pada tanah, selain itu biaya pembelian pupuk juga relative mahal. Oleh karena itu pelaksanaan program pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini dengan memberikan paket teknologi pembuatan pupuk organik dengan bahan dasar kotoran sapi. Kegiatan penyuluhan dan praktek pembuatan pupuk organik sudah dilaksanakan di kelompok tani tersebut. Hasil pupuk organik yang diperoleh diharapkan dapat diaplikasikan pada lahan pertanian untuk mengurangi penggunaan pupuk kimia.

This study investigated the effects of dietary protein levels and betaine supplementation on nutrient digestibility and performance of Japanese quails. In total, 765 Japanese quails were randomly assigned to a 3×3 factorial arrangement, with five replicates of 17 quails each. Three basal diets were formulated to contain three crude protein levels (16.5, 18.0, and 19.5%). Each protein level was supplemented with 0, 0.06, and 0.12% betaine. The diet with 16.5% dietary crude protein with no betaine supplementation resulted in the lowest crude fiber digestibility, while the 18.0% CP diet supplemented with 0.12% betaine generated the highest crude fiber digestibility (p<0.05). The diets with 18.0 and 19.5% crude protein increased crude fiber digestibility, but reduced ether extract digestibility (p<0.01). Moreover, betaine supplementation increased dry matter, crude protein, crude fiber, and crude ash (p<0.01) digestibility and tended to increase ether extract digestibility (p=0.09). The increase in egg weight for the 18.0 and 19.5% protein diets was correlated with a decrease in feed conversion ratio (p<0.05). However, feed intake and egg production were not affected by protein levels. Betaine supplementation enhanced all performance variables (p<0.01). The diets with 18.0 and 19.5% crude protein resulted in heavier yolks and eggshells than the 16.5% crude protein diet (p<0.05), whereas betaine supplementation increased yolk, albumen, and eggshell weight (p<0.01). The 18.0 and 19.5% protein diets produced similar responses in most evaluated parameters. Laying Japanese quails can be fed diets with 18.0% crude protein. Moreover, betaine supplementation provided several benefits, and particularly improved nutrient digestibility, performance, and egg quality.

Necrotic enteritis (NE) and coccidiosis are among the most prevalent infectious diseases in broiler chickens, contributing to large profitability losses. Bacillus subtilis is a promising direct-fed probiotic to counter various pathogens infection in broiler chickens. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the effects of B. subtilis on broiler chickens performance. A total of 28 studies were selected according to a PRISMA checklist. Random-effect model and mixed-effect model of meta-analysis were fitted to estimate the overall effects of B. subtilis (BS) treatment compared to either the control group (CON) or NE-infected group (NE_inf) as a baseline. Hedges' g effect size and its variance were used as estimators of standardized mean difference (SMD) calculation where the results were presented at a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of the SMD. Overall, NE_inf broiler chickens depressed (P < 0.01) body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and feed intake, and elevated (P < 0.01) feed conversion ratio (FCR). Treatment with BS improved ADG and final BW of NE_inf with no difference (P = 0.15) between BS and antibiotics (AB), indicating that they had comparable efficacy to treat NE in broiler chickens. BS supplemented to uninfected CON (BSS) improved (P < 0.01) final BW, ADG, and FCR. Compared to CON, BS, and AB failed to recover the FCR but these treatments decreased (P < 0.01) FCR when compared to the NE_inf group with similar efficacy (P = 0.97). As expected, NE_inf birds had a higher mortality rate (P < 0.01) and higher lesion score (P < 0.01) compared to CON, and treatment using AB and BS successfully decreased (P < 0.01) the mortality rate and lesion score. Compared to BS, AB was more effective to lower (P = 0.01) mortality rate, but comparable (P = 0.65) to minimize lesion score. To conclude, B. subtilis could be an effective natural additive to replace in-feed antibiotics in broiler chickens challenged with C. perfringens. However, the efficacy to reduce mortality rate was better with antibiotics treatment.