Probiotic and prebiotic supplementation in broiler chickens: growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality

Manipulations of the intestinal microbiota composition through pre- and pro-biotics may improve health and performance of chickens. A study was carried out to evaluate effects of a probiotic preparation (LavipanVR ) and a combination of LavipanVR with the prebiotic RFO (raffinose family oligosaccharides), supplemented in feed, on economic impact (European Broiler Index, EBI), performance, carcass traits and meat quality of broiler chickens. 360 one-day-old female chicks (Ross 308) were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatments: basal diet (Control, C); basal diet with 1% of LavipanVR (L) consisting of L. lactis IBB500, C. divergens S1, L. casei ŁOCK 0915, L. plantarum ŁOCK 0862 and S. cerevisiae ŁOCK 0141; basal diet with a combination of LavipanVR (1%) with RFO (0.8%) (LR). Both formulations were supplemented for the first 7 days of chick’s life. Chickens were reared in floor pens (10 replicate pens/treatment, 12 chicks/pen). To provide commercial conditions, the poultry house was filled with 9000 as-hatched chicks. Body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR), at 10, 21 and 40 day of age, were calculated on pen basis. At 41 d of age, 10 randomly chosen birds per treatment were weighed and slaughtered. The yields of carcass, breast and legs were calculated. Pectoral muscle (PM) pH, color and water holding capacity were measured at 24 hours post-mortem. Total lipid and fatty acid analyses on PM were carried out. Data were evaluated by ANOVA. EBI was better in both L (342.7) and LR (354.6) compared with C group (326.0). Both L and LR supplementation significantly improved BWG within the first 10 days of life as compared with C group (p<.05). No significant differences in the BWG were found for the rest of the rearing period. However, treatment with LR and L was associated with modest increases in total BWG (þ1.3% and þ3.1%, respectively) as compared with C group. FI was higher in L group within the first 10 days of life as compared with C and LR groups (p<.05). The FCR was not affected by the treatment. Final body weight, carcass weight and carcass traits of slaughtered chickens were similar among groups. Any significant effect on physico-chemical traits, total lipid and fatty acid composition of PM was found. In conclusion, although the effect of bioactives supplementation on growth performance seems negligible the economic impact could be relevant if we consider the high number of animals in commercial conditions.