Multiple factorial analysis of growth performance, gut population, lipid profiles, immune responses, intestinal histomorphology, and relative organ weights of Cobb 500 broilers fed a diet supplemented with phage cocktail and probiotics

Abstract

Previous studies on probiotics in chickens have shown varying efficacy, and the use of phage as a supplement for improving chicken performance and health has gained interest. However, the combination of these supplements has not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to assess the effects of an Escherichia coli phage cocktail, both alone and in combination with probiotics, on specific gut populations, lipid profiles, heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, serum immunoglobulins, villus height to crypt depth ratio, and relative organ weights in chickens at day 21 and 35. The experiment followed a completely randomised design with factorial arrangements, consisting of three levels of phage cocktail dosage (0 g/kg, 1 g/kg, and 2 g/kg) and two levels of probiotics dosage (0 g/kg and 1 g/kg), with a total of 288 one-day-old male Cobb 500 broilers. Our study demonstrated that supplementing chicken diets with 1 g/kg phage cocktail and 1 g/kg probiotics resulted in significant (p < 0.05) improvements in growth performance and reduced Clostridium perfringens populations. It also reduced triglyceride levels and did not cause physiological stress, as indicated by the heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Overall, this study provides important insights into the potential benefits of combining phages and probiotics in broiler chicken diets, which have not been extensively studied.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Incorporating 1 g/kg of phage cocktail and 1 g/kg of probiotics significantly enhances chicken growth performance and decreases populations of harmful bacteria.

• This dietary supplementation reduces blood lipid levels in chickens without causing physiological stress.

• The study highlights the promising advantages of combining phages and probiotics in poultry diets, suggesting a novel approach to improve chicken health and productivity.

Keywords:

• Additive
• bacteriophage
• feed
• health
• poultry

Acknowledgments

The research was conducted as part of Mohd Asrore Mohd Shaufi’s Ph.D. thesis. We would like to express our gratitude to the members of the Laboratory of Immunotherapeutics and Vaccines (LIVES), Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, including Mr. Khairul, Madam Haw, as well as to the members of the Animal Research Centre (ARC), at Universiti Putra Malaysia, for their invaluable contributions to the success of this project. Additionally, I would like to thank my late supervisor, Associate Prof. Dr. Sieo Chin Chin, for her motivating and inspiring guidance. Her spirit will always live in us.

Ethical approval

Procedures on chicken management, experimental design, methods and analyses have been approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Universiti Putra Malaysia (Ref: UPM/IACUC/AUP-R101/2015).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Mohd Shaufi MA, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Ministry Of Higher Education Malaysia, grant number FRGS/1/2015/WAB01/UPM/02/10 and The APC was funded by Research Management Centre Universiti Putra Malaysia.