Influence of spleen meal and hydrolyzed yeast on growth performance, blood cells, antibody titres and IL-2 gene expression in broiler chickens

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate spleen meal (SPM) nutritional value and compare its effects and hydrolyzed yeast (HY) in broiler chickens. In experiment 1, nutrient composition and metabolizable energy content of SPM were determined using male broilers. In experiment 2, 600 broiler chicks were assigned to 5 groups. Dietary treatments were control group, HY1: hydrolyzed yeast (1 g/kg), HY2: hydrolyzed yeast (2 g/kg), SPM1: (30 g/kg diet) and SPM2: (60 g/kg diet). Interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene expression and antibody titre against Newcastle and infectious bursal diseases were evaluated on day 21. apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and AMEn content of SPM were 3496 and 3296 kcal/kg, respectively. Supplementation with SPM improved (P < 0.001) body weight gain and feed conversion ratio compared to control and HY1 groups. Antibody titre against IBV was improved in SPM1, SPM2 and HY2 groups compared to HY1 and control groups. WBC was increased and heterophile was reduced in groups fed with SPM compared to control and HY groups. The highest gene expression for IL-2 was observed in broilers which received SPM1 and SPM2 compared to control and HY groups. It was concluded that dietary supplementation of HY and SPM has potential to improve broiler performance and immune response.

Keywords

• antibody titres
• broiler
• spleen meal
• hydrolyzed yeast
• interleukin-2