Postbiotic, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects of aqueous microbial lysozyme in broiler chickens

Figures & data

Table 1. Analysis of the starter and grower diets used in the experiments for the percentage of ingredients and stated composition (%, as-fed basis).

Ingredients %	Starter (0–10 d)	Grower (11–21 d)	Finisher (22–35 d)
Yellow corn	54.78	58.88	63.90
Soybean meal (44%)	33.5	29.4	24
Corn gluten (60%)	5	5	5
Corn oil	2	2.65	3.15
Dicalcium phosphate	1.73	1.6	1.5
Limestone	1.35	1	1
Salt	0.4	0.4	0.4
DL-methionine*	0.15	0.12	0.1
HCl-lysine**	0.35	0.3	0.3
Vitamins and minerals premix ***	0.3	0.3	0.3
Antimycotoxin	0.2	0.2	0.2
Sodium bicarbonate	0.1	0.1	0.1
Choline chloride	0.05	0.05	0.05
Calculated composition
ME, Kcal/Kg diet	3005	3100	3195
CP%	23	21.5	19.5
Ca%	1	0.87	0.82
Avail. P%	0.47	0.44	0.41
Methionine%	0.56	0.51	0.47
Lysine%	1.44	1.29	1.14
Meth. + Cyst. %	0.93	0.86	0.78
Na%	0.20	0.20	0.20

SBM: soybean meal; ME: metabolizable energy; CP: crude proteins; Av. (P): available phosphorus. *DL—methionine 99% feed grade China; **L—lysine 99% feed grade; ***vitamin and mineral premix (Hero mix) manufactured by Hero pharm and composed (per 3 kg) of vitamin A 12,000,000 IU, vitamin D3 2,500,000 IU, vitamin E 10,000 mg, vitamin K3 2000 mg, vitamin B1 1000 mg, vitamin B2 5000 mg, vitamin B6 1500 mg, vitamin B12 10 mg, niacin 30,000 mg, biotin 50 mg, folic acid 1000 mg, pantothenic acid 10,000 mg, manganese 60,000 mg, zinc 50,000 mg, iron 30,000 mg, copper 4000 mg, iodine 300 mg, selenium 100 mg, and cobalt 100 mg.

Table 2. Postbiotic effect of microbial lysozyme on performance.

Item	LTG	LFG	p-Value
Average final body weight, g	1890 ± 7.9^a	1850 ± 12.5^a	0.288
Feed intake, g	2520 ± 27.9^a	2530 ± 38.8^a	0.390
Feed conversion ratio	1.36 ± 0.03^b	1.40 ± 0.04^a	0.042
European production efficiency factor	397 ± 5.36^a	377.5 ± 9.91^b	0.040

Any two means for a performance parameter bearing different superscript letters in a row are significantly (p < 0.05) different from each other.

European production efficiency factor = [(viability % × body weight Kg/age (d) × FCR)] × 100.

Table 3. Postbiotic effect of microbial lysozyme on the intestinal integrity and intestinal lactobacillus count (log₁₀ CFU/g).

Item	LTG	LFG	p-Value
Intestinal integrity
Intestinal length, cm	175 ± 0.2^a	150 ± 0.3^b	0.046
Intestinal diameters, cm	1.45 ± 0.02^a	1.23 ± 0.04^b	0.001
Intestinal integrity score	0.2 ± 0.004^a	0.7 ± 0.002^b	0.042
Intestinal lactobacillus count (log10 CFU/g)
Crop, d 15	4.2 ± 0.25^a	2.5 ± 0.46^b	0.001
Crop, d 35	6.85 ± 0.33^a	4.52 ± 0.45^b	0.001
Ileum, d 15	5.6 ± 0.24^a	4.3 ± 0.65^b	0.019
Ileum, d 35	7.64 ± 0.6^a	5.65 ± 0.48^b	0.002
Cecum, d 15	6.2 ± 0.34^a	5.2 ± 0.43^b	0.021
Cecum, d 35	8.4 ± 0.28^a	6.2 ± 0.34^b	0.008

Any two means for a performance parameter bearing different superscript letters in a row are significantly (p < 0.05) different from each other.

Figure 1. Anti-inflammatory assessments (a: IL-1β; b: CXCL8) in both groups. Different letters above the bars indicate statistically significant difference between groups at p value below 0.05.

Figure 2. Cellular immune modulation (a: MΦ count; b: phagocytic index) in both groups. Different letters above the bars indicate statistically significant difference between groups at p value below 0.05.

Figure 3. Local (IgA) immune modulation in both groups. Different letters above the bars indicate statistically significant difference between groups at p value below 0.05.

Figure 4. Humoral (HI titers) immune modulation in both groups. Different letters above the bars indicate statistically significant difference between groups at p value below 0.05.

Data availability statement

The data of this study are available from the corresponding authors, [MAA & AO], upon reasonable request.