The poultry industry is constantly demanding novel strategies to improve the productivity and health status of hens, prioritizing those based on the holistic use of natural resources. This study aimed to assess the effects of an Allium-based phytobiotic on productivity, egg quality, and fecal microbiota of laying hens. One hundred and ninety-two 14-week-old Lohmann Lite LSL hens were allocated into an experimental farm, fed with a commercial concentrate with and without the Allium-based phytobiotic, and challenged against Salmonella. Productivity, egg quality, and fecal microbiota were monitored for 20 weeks. Results showed that the phytobiotic caused an increase on the number of eggs laid (p < 0.05) and in the feed conversion rate (p < 0.05); meanwhile, egg quality, expressed as egg weight, albumin height, haugh units, egg shell strength, and egg shell thickness remained unchanged (p > 0.05), although yolk color was decreased. Fecal microbiota structure was also modified, indicating a modulation of the gut microbiota by increasing the presence of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes but reducing Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria phyla. Predicted changes in the functional profiles of fecal microbiota suggest alterations in metabolic activities that could be responsible for the improvement and maintenance of productivity and egg quality when the phytobiotic was supplemented; thus, Allium-based phytobiotic has a major impact on the performance of laying hens associated with a possible gut microbiota modulation.

From a cultural point of view, Maize is the most important crop in Mexico, and is also an essential food in the Mexican diet. This study aimed to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of maize grain and their influence on the quality of dough and tortillas produced with three native maize cultivars from western Mexico. Physical, structural, and chemical characteristics of the grain were evaluated, including hectolitric weight, 100-grain weight, flotation index, grain structure, grain color, pedicel, pericarp, germ, and floury endosperm, vitreous endosperm, ethereal extract, and protein. Nixtamal and tortilla quality include nixtamal moisture, dough moisture, freshly made tortilla moisture, total soluble solids, pericarp remnant, dough yield, and hot tortilla yield. In general, statistical differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found in almost all variables analyzed. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that two principal components (PCs), described approximately 79% of the variation, and a positive correlation between the characteristics of freshly made tortilla moisture (FMTM), dough yield (DY), and nixtamal moisture (NM), as well as dough moisture (DM) and hot tortilla yield (HTY). Future studies on these and other native maize cultivars of western Mexico must be conducted to assess the physicochemical and phytochemical characteristics of maize grains that may be useful for food and pharmaceutical applications, contributing to the conservation, propagation, and use of natural and ancient resources.

Maize silage is used in the diet of dairy cows, with suitable results in milk yield. In this study, the composition and diversity of the bacterial communities of the silage process of Amarillo Zamorano (AZ) Mexican maize landrace with relation to the Antilope (A) commercial hybrid are described. From both types of maize, seeds were sown in experimental plots, plants harvested at the reproductive stage, chopped, and packed in laboratory micro-silos. Physicochemical parameters were evaluated, and DNA was extracted from the juice in the micro-silos. The bacterial communities were analyzed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) of seven hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. The composition of both bacterial communities was dominated by Lactobacillales and Enterobacteriales, Lactobacillales mainly in A silage and Enterobacteriales in AZ silage; as well, the core bacterial community of both silages comprises 212 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Sugar concentration showed the highest number of significant associations with OTUs of different phyla. The structure of the bacterial communities was different in both silage fermentation processes, showing that AZ silage has a shorter fermentation process than A silage. In addition, NGS demonstrated the effect of the type of maize and local conditions on silage fermentation and contributed to potential strategies to improve the quality of AZ silage.