Immunopharmacological Evaluation of Synbiotics and Enramycin in Broilers

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

2 National Laboratory for Veterinary Quality Control on Poultry Production, Ismailia, Egypt.

3 Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.

Abstract

The current study was designed to evaluate the effect of synbiotic and enramycin on the broiler immunity and growth performance. Ninety one-day old Cobb broiler chicks were randomly assigned into three groups (n=30) with three replicates each. The first control group fed basal diet only, the second group received basal diet plus enramycin (0.5g/kg), and the third group fed basal diet fortified with synbiotic (0.5g/kg) up to 42 days. The results revealed significant (P<0.05) improvement of the growth performance parameters, phagocytic index, and phagocytic percentage in synbiotic fortified group in comparison with other groups. Supplemented diet with synbiotic resulted in up regulation of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in cecal tonsils and spleen when compared with the control and enramycin groups. However, there were no significant differences within the groups in antibody titers against Newcastle disease (ND), Avian Influenza (AI), and Infectious Bronchitis (IB) viruses at both 28 and 42 days. Moreover, the enramycin caused a significant (P<0.05) adverse effect on the liver healthiness as compared with other groups. In conclusion, the synbiotic can be considered as a potential feed additive alternative to antibiotic with desired effect as immunostimulants and growth promoter without adverse effect on the liver healthiness.

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