Objective: A feeding trial was carried out to determine the effect of dietary inclusion of silymarin seed extract on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, excreta microbiota, excreta gas emission, blood profiles, and meat quality in broilers.Methods: A total of 1,088 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks (mixed-sex) with an initial body weight of 42.34±0.82 g, were randomly allocated into 1 of 4 dietary treatments with 17 replicates of 16 chicks per cage and fed a basal diet supplemented with 0%, 0.02%, 0.04%, and 0.06% of silymarin.Results: The inclusion of silymarin supplementation linearly increased the body weight of broilers during days 7 to 21 and 1 to 35 days. On day 35, broilers fed a diet containing graded levels of silymarin supplementation linearly increased the nutrient digestibility of dry matter, gross energy, and nitrogen and cecal Lactobacillus counts (p = 0.038). While silymarin supplement linearly reduced the methyl mercaptans (p = 0.039) and acetic acid (p = 0.007) emission in broilers. No significant effects were observed on the blood profile. Relative weights of organs such as breast muscle, bursa of fabricius were increased (linear effect, p0.05) in drip loss from meat samples during days 1, 3, 5, and 7 by the addition of graded level of silymarin to the diet.Conclusion: An increasing level of silymarin supplementation to the diet of broiler would be beneficial to enhance growth performance, nutrient digestibility, excreta microflora, blood profile, and meat quality traits.

Journal of Animal Science and Technology (JAST) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal publishing original research, review articles and notes in all fields of animal science. Topics covered by the journal include: genetics and breeding, physiology, nutrition of monogastric animals, nutrition of ruminants, animal products (milk, meat, eggs and their by-products) and their processing, grasslands and roughages, livestock environment, animal biotechnology, animal behavior and welfare.

The demand for valuable protein sources is increasing. The mealworm has been highlighted as a good source of protein. Nevertheless, beneficial effects of mealworm such as the antioxidative and/or anti-inflammatory effects are rarely studied. It is well-known that cranberry fruit has a strong antioxidant effect. The biologically active compounds in mealworm and cranberry could boost the antioxidative and/or anti-inflammatory effects. The current study investigated the interactive effects of mealworm protein hydrolysate (MWPH) and cranberry fruit extract (CFE) in mammals. We evaluated growth performance, relative organ weight, immune responses, antioxidant enzyme activities, blood properties, and fecal microflora. A 2 × 2 factorial experimental design was used. The co-supplementation of MWPH and CFE improved serum glutathione peroxidase. MWPH affected a lower serum IL-1β and fecal Clostridium density. The co-supplementation appeared more effective in terms of good health and potentially the prevention of disease.

The present study explored the influence of supplemental herbal mixtures on cow milk production, quality, and blood parameters in dairy cows under high ambient temperatures. Thirty Holstein cows were randomly assigned into three experimental groups of 10 each. The first control group was supplied with the commercial basal diet, whereas two treatment groups were provided with the commercial basal diet supplemented with 50 and 100 g/head/day of the herbal mixture, respectively. The results showed that the mixture of herbal supplementation did not influence weekly milk production. Milk total fat, triglyceride, and total protein values were not affected (p < 0.05) in cows fed on basal diets supplemented with herbal mixture; however, milk cholesterol was decreased significantly by 100 mg/head/day of the herbal mixture. On the other hand, lactose has increased significantly by adding 100 mg/head/day of herbal mixture. Furthermore, the total cholesterol level in serum was decreased by adding 100 mg/head/day of the herbal mixture, while plasma prolactin, cortisol, GOT, and GPT were unaffected. Regarding fatty acids (C18, C18:1 (c9), 18:1 (c11), 18:2 (c9, c12), 18:2 (t9, t12), and CLA (c9, t11)), there was no significant variation between the groups. Meanwhile, both C19:00 and 18:3 (c6, c9, and c12) were noticeably higher (p < 0.05) in the group that received 100gm, followed by 50 mg, compared to the control. In conclusion, the supplement with a herbal mixture positively affected milk quality by decreasing total cholesterol and increasing lactose, milk fatty acid profile by increasing unsaturated fatty acids content, and plasma cholesterol levels.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementing quercetin extracted from Sophora japonica flower (QS) to the diet of broiler chicks on their growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, cecal microbiota, serum lipid profiles, relative organ weight, and breast muscle quality.Methods: A total of 1,088 1-day-old broiler chicks (mixed sex) were randomly assigned to four groups based on the initial body weight (43.00±0.29 g). The experimental period was 35 days (starter, days 0 to 7; grower, days 7 to 21; finisher, days 21 to 35). There were 17 replicate cages per treatment and 16 birds per cage. Dietary treatments consisted of birds receiving basal diet without quercetin as the control group and treatment groups consisted of birds fed basal diet supplemented with 0.2, 0.4, or 0.6 g/kg QS.Results: With the increase of the QS dosage, body weight gain during days 0 to 7 (p = 0.021), 7 to 21 (p = 0.010), and 1 to 35 (p = 0.045), feed intake during days 0 to 7 (p = 0.037) and 1 to 35 (p = 0.025), apparent dry matter digestibility (p = 0.008), apparent energy retention (p = 0.004), cecal lactic acid bacteria counts (p = 0.023), the relative weight of breast muscle (p = 0.014), pH value from breast muscle (p<0.001), and the water holding capacity of breast muscle (p = 0.012) increased linearly, whereas the drip loss from breast muscle (p = 0.001) decreased linearly.Conclusion: The addition of QS in the diet of broiler chicks had positive effects on the breast muscle yield and breast muscle quality, and improved the dry matter digestibility and energy retention by increasing cecal beneficial bacteria counts, thus improving growth performance.

Journal of Animal Science and Technology (JAST) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal publishing original research, review articles and notes in all fields of animal science. Topics covered by the journal include: genetics and breeding, physiology, nutrition of monogastric animals, nutrition of ruminants, animal products (milk, meat, eggs and their by-products) and their processing, grasslands and roughages, livestock environment, animal biotechnology, animal behavior and welfare.