Effects of dietary supplementation with fermented Chenopodium album L. on growth, nutrient digestibility, immunity, carcase characteristics and meat quality of broilers

Figures & data

Table 1. Ingredient and chemical composition of basal diets (%, air-dry basis).

Items	Starter (1–21, d)	Finisher (22–42, d)
Ingredients
Corn	52.70	59.00
Soybean meal	40.00	33.80
Soybean oil	3.00	3.00
Dicalcium phosphate	1.90	1.80
Limestone	1.08	1.22
Salt	0.37	0.37
L-Lysine HCl	0.05	0.03
DL-Methionine	0.19	0.07
Vitamin and minerals premix^a	0.60	0.50
Choline	0.11	0.11
Chemical composition^b
Dry matter	88.62	89.47
Crude protein	19.34	16.52
Neutral detergent fibre	17.83	15.33
Acid detergent fibre	3.04	2.66
Ash	5.72	5.98
Calcium	0.72	1.2
Phosphorous	0.52	0.53
Lysine	1.34	1.15
Methionine	0.55	0.40
Cysteine	0.40	0.36
Metabolisable energy (MJ/kg)	12.20	12.33

^a Provided per kilogram of diet: vitamin A 9000 U, vitamin D₃ 3000 U, vitamin E 26 mg, vitamin K₃ 1.20 mg, vitamin B₁ 3.00 mg, vitamin B₂ 8.00 mg, vitamin B₆ 4.40 mg, vitamin B₁₂ 0.012 mg, nicotinic acid 45 mg, folic acid 0.75, mg, biotin 0.20, mg, choline 1100 mg and calcium pantothenate 15 mg. Fe 100 mg, Cu 10 mg, Zn 108 mg, Mn 120 mg, I 1.5 mg and Se 0.35 mg.

^b The chemical composition was measured, while metabolisable energy was calculated by Tables of Feed Composition and Nutritive Values in China (2018 Twenty-Ninth Edition).

Table 2. Effects of fermented Chenopodium album L. (FCAL) supplementation on growth performance of broilers.

Items	FCAL levels (g/kg)				SEM	p Value
	0	2	4	8		Treatment	Linear	Quadratic
Initial body weight	45.59	46.10	44.55	46.29	0.309	.2049	.6567	.4390
Starter period (1–21, d)
Average daily gain	30.80^c	30.15^c	32.67^b	34.89^a	0.450	<.0001	<.0001	<.0001
Average daily feed intake	53.78^ab	52.19^b	54.60^a	55.03^a	0.351	.0092	.0384	.0947
Feed conversion ratio	1.75^a	1.73^a	1.67^a	1.58^b	0.020	.0014	<.0001	.0004
Finish period (22–42, d)
Average daily gain	79.72^c	88.68^a	84.50^b	80.05^c	0.843	<.0001	.5604	.0014
Average daily feed intake	138.34^ab	135.17^b	143.22^a	140.18^ab	0.911	.0224	.2484	.3026
Feed conversion ratio	1.74^a	1.52^b	1.70^a	1.75^a	0.023	<.0001	.1710	.0222
Whole period (1–42, d)
Average daily gain	53.87^b	54.38^b	57.38^a	57.93^a	0.610	.0197	.0041	.0136
Average daily feed intake	95.98^ab	93.15^b	97.92^a	98.83^a	0.639	.0487	.0843	.2351
Feed conversion ratio	1.78	1.72	1.73	1.71	0.016	.3662	.1593	.2747

^abcValues with different superscripts indicate a significant difference (p < .05).

Table 3. Effects of fermented Chenopodium album L. (FCAL) supplementation on apparent nutrient digestibility of broilers.

Items	FCAL levels (g/kg)				SEM	p Value
	0	2	4	8		Treatment	Linear	Quadratic
Starter period (19–21, d)
Dry matter	53.91^c	53.09^c	55.77^b	60.02^a	0.654	<.0001	<.0001	<.0001
Crude protein	42.84^c	43.11^c	47.24^b	50.42^a	0.770	<.0001	<.0001	<.0001
Ether extract	65.54^d	76.25^b	68.76^c	80.04^a	1.459	<.0001	.0166	.0552
Finish period (40–42, d)
Dry matter	47.61^d	69.14^a	62.99^b	60.22^c	1.954	<.0001	.1206	.0002
Crude protein	48.06^b	55.08^a	49.75^b	49.28^b	0.726	<.0001	.7334	.0920
Ether extract	78.41^b	84.43^a	78.10^b	77.11^b	0.799	<.0001	.1820	.0946

^abcdValues with different superscripts indicate a significant difference (p < .05).

Table 4. Effects of fermented Chenopodium album L. (FCAL) supplementation on serum immune indices of broilers (21 d).

Items	FCAL levels (g/kg)			SEM	p Value
	0	2	4		8	Treatment	Linear	Quadratic
IGF-1	172.26^b	170.99^b	171.41^b	184.50^a	1.921	.0318	.0099	.0107
Cytokines
IL-1β	138.77^a	122.84^b	127.36^b	128.26^b	1.729	<.0100	.1986	.0329
IL-8	157.61^a	142.23^c	149.73^b	155.36^ab	1.431	.0004	.6802	.0172
TNF-α	85.69	82.52	85.69	85.27	0.687	.4740	.7954	.9029
IL-10	82.79^a	75.88^b	82.63^a	84.77^a	0.751	<.0001	.1464	.0380
IFN-γ	120.19	116.52	123.90	118.90	1.523	.4918	.9750	.8783
Antibodies
IgG	2342.41	2454.44	2381.30	2317.41	28.386	.3616	.4492	.3515
IgA	141.84^b	157.86^a	155.44^a	151.13^a	1.576	.0045	.3439	.0068
IgM	140.22^b	154.21^a	150.80^a	151.16^a	1.376	.0007	.0448	.0044

^abcValues with different superscripts indicate a significant difference (p < .05).

IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor-1; IL-1β: interleukin-1β; IL-8: interleukin-8; TNF-α: tumour necrosis factor-α; IL-10: interleukin -10; IFN-γ: interferon-γ; IgG: immunoglobulin G; IgA: immunoglobulin A; IgM: immunoglobulin M.

Table 5. Effects of fermented Chenopodium album L. (FCAL) supplementation on serum immune indices of broilers (42 d).

Items	FCAL levels (g/kg)				SEM	p Value
	0	2	4	8		Treatment	Linear	Quadratic
IGF-1	165.39^b	173.30^a	174.62^a	170.05^a	1.000	.0013	.1601	.0004
Cytokines
IL-1β	130.54	127.59	128.75	130.65	1.080	.8487	.8081	.7250
IL-8	126.06	122.38	124.70	123.61	0.613	.3170	.4052	.5334
TNF-α	83.99	80.34	82.69	83.28	0.637	.2680	.9390	.4064
IL-10	92.83^a	87.88^b	86.73^b	92.93^a	0.768	.0052	.6673	.0014
IFN-γ	125.92	123.84	121.61	121.35	0.794	.2127	.0506	.1023
Antibodies
IgG	2581.11	2663.67	2676.17	2700.09	22.341	.2692	.0820	.1488
IgA	127.01^b	138.98^a	133.96^a	133.98^a	1.180	.0025	.2826	.0346
IgM	124.10	122.29	125.82	126.56	0.756	.3947	.1891	.4229

^abValues with different superscripts indicate a significant difference (p < .05).

IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor-1; IL-1β: interleukin-1β; IL-8: interleukin-8; TNF-α: tumour necrosis factor-α; IL-10: interleukin -10; IFN-γ: interferon-γ; IgG: immunoglobulin G; IgA: immunoglobulin A; IgM: immunoglobulin M.

Table 6. Effects of fermented Chenopodium album L. (FCAL) supplementation on carcase characteristics of broilers.

Items	FCAL level (g/kg)				SEM	p Value
	0	2	4	8		Treatment	Linear	Quadratic
Carcase percentage, %	91.28	91.35	92.15	91.78	0.254	.6556	.4409	.5650
Eviscerated percentage, %	74.22	74.69	73.96	76.05	0.333	.1564	.0870	.1184
Breast muscle percentage, %	27.16^b	27.21^b	28.40^ab	29.73^a	0.321	.0047	.0004	.0019
Leg muscle percentage, %	18.39	19.14	18.74	18.61	0.247	.7709	.9949	.7594
Abdominal fat percentage, %	2.13	2.07	2.09	2.09	0.048	.9877	.8645	.9565

^abValues with different superscripts indicate a significant difference (p < .05).

Table 7. Effect of fermented Chenopodium album L. (FCAL) supplementation on breast meat quality of broilers.

Items	FCAL levels (g/kg)				SEM	p Value
	0	2	4	8		Treatment	Linear	Quadratic
Drip loss, %	2.20^a	2.15^a	1.56^b	1.28^c	0.083	<.0001	<.0001	<.0001
Water loss rate, %	16.22^a	12.90^b	13.38^b	14.21^b	0.359	.0037	.3228	.0055
Cooking loss, %	27.51	26.70	26.44	26.46	0.227	.4476	.1912	.2579
Shear force, N	59.01^a	49.98^b	50.22^b	52.91^b	0.903	.0108	.4030	.0093
pH45, min	6.79	6.85	6.87	6.90	0.044	.8647	.4221	.6900
pH24, h	6.11	6.18	6.20	6.23	0.035	.7736	.3196	.5694
Lightness (L*)	47.47	47.28	47.29	46.73	0.129	.2717	.0516	.1428
Redness (a*)	5.25	5.24	5.46	5.42	0.100	.8759	.5308	.8064
Yellowness (b*)	12.00	12.01	11.32	11.33	0.166	.2431	.0838	.2021

^abcValues with different superscripts indicate a significant difference (p < .05).

Table 8. Effect of fermented Chenopodium album L. (FCAL) supplementation on leg meat quality of broilers.

Items	FCAL levels (g/kg)				SEM	p Value
	0	2	4	8		Treatment	Linear	Quadratic
Drip loss, %	1.67	1.52	1.45	1.40	0.048	.4111	.1141	.2240
Water loss rate, %	30.63^a	22.77^b	20.64^b	20.62^b	0.871	<.0001	.0024	<.0001
Cooking loss, %	34.11	32.05	31.93	31.91	0.417	.2238	.1089	.1234
Shear force, N	41.02	40.86	40.24	39.78	0.509	.8549	.3763	.6819
pH45, min	6.48	6.51	6.52	6.71	0.051	.5171	.1433	.3116
pH24, h	6.75	6.72	6.63	6.63	0.038	.5905	.2084	.4045
Lightness (L*)	51.10^a	49.06^c	49.99^b	49.55^bc	0.180	<.0001	.0663	.0208
Redness (a*)	7.25	7.36	7.50	7.57	0.114	.7729	.3041	.5764
Yellowness (b*)	11.74	11.65	11.69	11.62	0.125	.9893	.7765	.9590

^abcValues with different superscripts indicate a significant difference (p < .05).