Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences

ISSN: (Print) 1687-8507 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/trra20

Effect of some biological supplementation on

productive performance, physiological and
immunological response of layer chicks

M.H. Hatab, M.A. Elsayed & N.S. Ibrahim

To cite this article: M.H. Hatab, M.A. Elsayed & N.S. Ibrahim (2016) Effect of some biological
supplementation on productive performance, physiological and immunological response of
layer chicks, Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 9:2, 185-192, DOI: 10.1016/
j.jrras.2015.12.008

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrras.2015.12.008

© The Egyptian Society of Radiation Published online: 01 May 2019.

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Journal of Radiation Research and Applied
Sciences
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jrras

Effect of some biological supplementation on

productive performance, physiological and
immunological response of layer chicks

M.H. Hatab, M.A. Elsayed, N.S. Ibrahim*

Biological Applic. Dep., Nuclear Res. Center, Atomic Energy Authority, P.O. Box 13759, Egypt

article info abstract

Article history: The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of biological (Bacillus subtilis and
Received 27 October 2015 Enterococcus faecium) supplementation on productive performance, physiological and
Received in revised form immunological response of Hy-line layer chicks. Total of 300 one-day old of Hy-line layer
28 December 2015 chicks, were randomly divided into three groups. The first group was fed a basal diet and
Accepted 30 December 2015 served as a control. While the second and third groups were fed the basal diet that sup-
Available online 13 January 2016 plemented with the probiotic mixture at the rate of 1 and 2 gm/kg of diet, respectively, until
10 weeks of age.
Keywords: Results indicated that treated groups with helpful bacteria (B. subtilis and E. faecium)
Probiotic showed significant effect on final body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and higher
Layer chicks antibody levels against Newcastle disease virus as compared to the control one. Moreover,
Immune response significant increase was recorded in the relative weight of carcass, liver, heart, kidney,
Performance proventiculus, small intestine, thymus, spleen, bursa of Fabricius and small intestine
length (cm) in all supplemented groups as compared to the control group. On the other
hand, there were no significant effects on serum total protein, albumin, globulin and
creatinine concentrations, while, serum ALP, ALT, AST activities, uric acid, triglycerides
and cholesterol concentrations in all treated groups were significantly lower than in con-
trol group. Furthermore, serum glucose, calcium, phosphorus concentrations and triiodo-
thyronine hormone level were significantly higher in treated groups than the control. Red
and white blood cell counts, hemoglobin level and hematocrit values were significantly
increased in all treated groups as compared to control group.
In conclusion, biological (B. subtilis and E. faecium) supplementation can be used as one
of important additive for enhancing the productive efficiency, and immunity of growing
Hy-line chicks.
Copyright © 2016, The Egyptian Society of Radiation Sciences and Applications. Production
and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (N.S. Ibrahim).
Peer review under responsibility of The Egyptian Society of Radiation Sciences and Applications.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrras.2015.12.008
1687-8507/Copyright © 2016, The Egyptian Society of Radiation Sciences and Applications. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
186 J o u r n a l o f R a d i a t i o n R e s e a r c h a n d A p p l i e d S c i e n c e s 9 ( 2 0 1 6 ) 1 8 5 e1 9 2

intestinal tract by displacing harmful bacteria. Thus, the use

1. Introduction of defined probiotic cultures in the poultry industry has
recently become more common for obtaining better digestion
In Egypt, poultry farming is considered the most important and absorption of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which also
way for solving the gap in meat production for human con- increases the feed conversion efficiency and increases the
sumption. However, during intensive growth, this industry body's resistance to infectious diseases by offering digestible
has always been confronted with challenges constraint to proteins, vitamins, enzymes, various antibacterial substances
productivity that results in heavy economic loss to the poultry and other important co-factors and by decreasing gut pH by
producers. Among these conditions, low growth performance production of lactic acids. As ‘live enzyme factory’ (amylase,
and infectious diseases (Boirivant & Strober, 2007). protease, lipase). Moreover, Probiotics help in metabolism of
Biological supplementation to appropriate diets is highly minerals and synthesis of vitamins (Biotin, Vitamin-B1, B2,
helpful in the poultry industry for obtaining better produc- B12 and K), which are responsible for proper growth and
tivity and health benefits (Hajati & Rezaei, 2010). The use of metabolism (Dhama & Singh, 2010). Unfortunately, little in-
effective live microbes is recommended in the newly hatched formation is available concerning the effect of biological
chicks, to accelerate development of normal microflora and as supplementation on layer chicks under Egyptian condition.
safe alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (Bansal, Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the
Singh, & Sachan, 2011). These could prevent diseases like effects of biological (B. subtilis and E. faecium) supplementation
early chick mortality, gastro-intestinal disturbances like on productive performance, physiological and immunological
scouring, loss of appetite, improper digestion, poor absorption response of Hy-line layer chicks from 1 to 10 weeks of age.
of nutrients and infectious conditions by fighting against
pathogenic microbes especially the enteric pathogens. Thus,
these can alleviate reduced production performance and 2. Materials and methods
prevent heavy economic loss to the poultry producers (Dhama
& Singh, 2010). In this regard, Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus 2.1. Experimental chicks and biological supplementation
faecium are beneficial “live microbes”, classified as probiotics
(Mountzouris et al., 2007). A positive impact of probiotics A total number of 300 one-day old, Hy-line layer chicks with
supplementation in poultry has been well reported on pro- the average weight of 40 g, reared at the Poultry Experimental
duction performance, (Awad, Ghareeb, Abdel-Raheem, & House, Nuclear Research Center, Egyptian Atomic Energy
Bohm, 2009), feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion Authority were used in the present study. Hy-line layer chicks,
efficiency (Cavit, 2003), immune responses (Alkhalf, Alhaj, & with the average weight of 40 g were randomly divided into
Al-Homidan, 2010), and body's resistance to infectious dis- three equal groups. The first group was fed a basal diet and
eases (Santos & Ferket, 2006) and help lowering of chick served as a control. While the second and third groups were
mortality (Dhama et al., 2008). The benefits of probiotics are fed the basal diet that supplemented with the probiotic
based on improve the microbial environment of a bird's mixture (B. subtilis and E. faecium) with 1 and 2 gm/kg,
respectively, until 10 weeks of age. All groups were kept at the
similar conditions of room temperature and under normal
periods of light/dark. Feed and water supplemented were ad
Table 1 e The ingredient composition and calculated
libitum throughout the experimental period. Body weight gain
chemical analysis of the basal diet.
and feed consumption were recorded weekly during the
Ingredients composition (kg) Ingredient percentage
experiment period. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated
Yellow corn 54.25 as the ratio between feed intake and body weight gain at the
soy bean meal (44%) 25.00 end of each week. The ingredients' composition and calcu-
Glutin 6.00
lated chemical analysis of the basal diet are given in Table 1.
Vegetable oil 3.50
Dicalcium. phosphate 2.00
The probiotics used in the experiment were white dried
Limestone 8.50 powders of double strain probiotic with the content of
DL-methionine 0.10 3.0
1010 cfu/g. Probiotic containing (B. subtilis and E. faecium)
Sodium chloride 0.30 was purchased from “Biopellet-S00 and manufactured by Samu
Yeast 0.15 median Co., Ltd. (South Korea).
Amino vet. 0.05
Zinc pacitracin 0.015
2.2. Carcass traits and blood analysis
Choline chloride 0.14
Lysine 0.20
Calcium carbonate 3.50 At the end of experimental period (10 weeks of age), six
Vitamin and min. premixa 0.35 chickens from each group, were randomly selected, weighed
Calculated chemical analysis and slaughtered for carcass analysis. Head, feather, feet and
Crude protein, % 23 viscera for each slaughter bird were handily removed. Carcass,
Metabolizable energy 3100 Kcal/kg
liver, heart, kidney, proventiculus, small intestine, thymus,
a
Vitamin and mineral premix (contained per Kgm):- vit A, 1200 IU; spleen, and bursa of Fabricius for each slaughter bird were
vit D 1100 IU; vit E, 12 mg; vitB12, 0.02 mg; vit B1, 1 mg; choline calculated as a relative percentage of live body weight. In
chloride, 0.16 mg; copper, 3 mg; iron, 30 mg; manganese, 40 mg;
addition, small intestine length was determined. Blood sam-
zinc, 45 mg; and selenium, 3 mg.
ples were collected from slaughtered chicks and placed in two
 J o u r n a l o f R a d i a t i o n R e s e a r c h a n d A p p l i e d S c i e n c e s 9 ( 2 0 1 6 ) 1 8 5 e1 9 2 187

tubes, one with lithium heparin to determine hematological feed consumption (g/bird) and feed conversion ratio are pre-
parameters and the other without anticoagulant and left to clot sented in Tables 2 and 3, respectively.
then centrifuged at 1600
g for 15 min, and the resulting serum It was found that, weekly body weights (Table 2), daily
was stocked at 20  C for hormonal and chemical analyses. weight gain and final body weight (Table 3) were significantly
Serum total proteins, albumin, total calcium, inorganic increased in the treated groups as compared to the control
phosphorus, alkaline phosphates (ALP), uric acid, creatinine, during overall experimental period. The third group (2 g/kg
alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase diet) was significantly higher than the second group (1 g/kg
(AST), triglyceride, total cholesterol and glucose were deter- diet). Furthermore, weekly feed consumption (g/bird) and feed
mined colorimetrically using commercial kits produced by conversion ratio (Table 3), were significantly decreased in the
Stanbio Company, USA by computerized spectrophotometer third treated groups than the second group, and both of them
model Milton Roy 1201. Serum Glob values were calculated by were significantly decreased than the control group. These
subtracting albumin values from their corresponding total findings are in agreement with several reports demonstrating
proteins values of the same sample. Finally, triiodothyronin that probiotic supplemented to the birds improved the body
hormone (T3) was determined using radioimmunoassay (RIA) weight gains of the broiler chickens (Benites, Gilharry, Gernat,
Commercial Kit produced by IZOTOP Company (INSTITUTE OF & Murillo, 2008). Khaksefidi and Ghoorchi (2006) showed also
ISOTOPES Ltd.) (http://www.izotop.hu) and samples were that body weight gain of the birds fed diet supplemented with
counted on Pacard Gamma Counter. Concerning, blood he- 50 mg/kg of probiotic (B. subtilis) were significantly higher than
matological parameters, Red blood cells (RBCs) and white the control group and the feed conversion ratio was better. In
blood cells (WBCs) counts were determined according to Natt addition, Mountzouris et al. (2007) and Bansal et al. (2011)
and Herrick (1952). Hemoglobin concentration (Hb) and found that broilers treated with probiotic containing Ped-
packed cell volume (PCV %) were determined according to iococcus strain, Enterococcus strain, Lactobacillusstrains and Bifi-
Dacie and Lewis (1991). dobacterium strain in feed and water had better feed conversion
ratio.
2.3. Immunological test In this study, biological “B. subtilis and E. faecium” supple-
mentation is effective in promoting poultry growth and
At the end of the experiment, six birds from each group were improving feed conversion ratio. This result may be due to “ B.
chosen at random and housed in multidisc batteries. Each bird subtilis and E. faecium” supplementation enhancing the syn-
was vaccinated against Newcastle disease with NDV clone 30 thesis of certain vitamins, providing digestive enzymes and
(Nobilis ND Clone 30; Intervet) by eye-drop. Blood samples increasing the production of volatile fatty acids that finally are
were collected from wing vein using an insulin syringe at metabolized in favor of the host (Fuller, 2001). The treatment
three times 3, 7 and 9 days of post-vaccination. Blood was with biological supplementation may also increase the uptake
allowed to clot then centrifuged immediately to separate of nutrients from gastrointestinal tract through their indirect
serum to determine immune response (antibody titer) of the effect on its permeability (Higgins et al., 2008). In this mention,
chickens derived from vaccination against Newcastle disease Mountzouris et al. (2007) and Alkhalf et al. (2010) reported that
virus by performed Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test on probiotic's immunomodulatory activity and ability to fortify
serum samples according to the method of (King & Seal, 1998). beneficial members of the intestinal microflora, improving
efficiency of digestion and nutrient absorption processes of
2.4. Statistical analysis the host. Particularly, it was also worth noting that birds
treated with “B. subtilis and E. faecium” displayed a great
One way, analysis of variance was done using the SAS General
Liner Model procedure (SAS Institute, 2002). The main factor
was the treatment (bacteria supplementation). Significance
level was set at P < 0.05. Mean values were compared using Table 2 e Effects of biological (Bacillus subtilis and
Duncan's Multiple Range Test (Duncan, 1955) when significant Enterococcus faecium) supplementation on live body
differences existed. The model used was: Yij ¼ m þ Ti þ eijWhere: weight of layer chicks.
Body weight (g), Experimental groups
Yij ¼ any value from the overall population. m ¼ the overall weekly
0 g/kg diet 1 gm/kg diet 2 gm/kg diet
mean.
Ti ¼ the effect of the ith treatment (i ¼ 1, control& 2, bac- Initial body weight 40.9 ± 0.67a 41.4 ± 0.93a 40.4.0 ± 0.76a
At 1st week 61.1 ± 1.14b 65.0 ± 0.95a 65.69 ± 0.71a
teria supplementation).
At 2 nd week 91.3 ± 0.70c 101 ± 1.60b 109.8 ± 1.50a
eij ¼ the random error associated with the jth individual. At 3rd week 139.9 ± 0.70c 158.8 ± 1.17b 179.4 ± 1.20a
At 4th week 229.7 ± 1.26c 253.9 ± 1.53b 288.8 ± 1.24a
At 5th week 334.85 ± 2.5c 379.1 ± 1.91b 417.14 ± 2.2a
3. Results and discussion At 6 th week 480.2 ± 2.40c 522.0 ± 2.14b 586.4 ± 2.1a
At 7th week 626.3 ± 1.70c 693.0 ± 1.42b 761.95 ± 1.8a
At 8th week 790.6 ± 1.30c 878.2 ± 1.85b 969.1 ± 1.94a
3.1. Effect of biological supplementation on productive
At 9th week 987.5 ± 2.50c 1104 ± 1.18b 1211 ± 2.04a
performance Final body weight 1307.5 ± 2.30c 1369.2 ± 1.74b 1467.8 ± 2.3a

a,b,c e Means in the same row with different superscripts are

The effects of biological “B. subtilis and E. faecium” supple-
significantly different (P  0.05).
mentation on body weights, daily body weight gain, weekly
188 J o u r n a l o f R a d i a t i o n R e s e a r c h a n d A p p l i e d S c i e n c e s 9 ( 2 0 1 6 ) 1 8 5 e1 9 2

Table 3 e Effects of biological (Bacillus subtilis and Table 4 e Effects of biological supplementation on relative
Enterococcus faecium) supplementation on growth and weight of carcass and some organs of layer chicks.
feed performance of layer chicks. Relative weight of Experimental groups
Growth Experimental groups carcass and some
0 g/kg diet 1 gm/kg 2 gm/kg
performance organs
0 g/kg diet 1 gm/kg diet 2 gm/kg diet diet diet
Daily weight gain (g) 18.1 ± 1.5c 18.97 ± 1.3b 20.39 ± 1.5a Carcass 55.6 ± 0.580c 64.8 ± 0.32b 69.64 ± 0.62a
Feed intake (g)/bird 2825.5 ± 2.3a 2778.2 ± 2.3b 2746.4 ± 2.3c Liver 1.82 ± 0.016b 1.99 ± 0.023a 2.04 ± 0.023a
Feed conversion ratio 2.13 ± 0.3a 2.06 ± 0.3b 1.87 ± 0.3c Heart 0.51 ± 0.012c 0.53 ± 0.009 ab
0.56 ± 0.015a
Proventiculus 0.34 ± 0.005c 0.38 ± 0.004b 0.42 ± 0.007a
a,b,c e Means in the same row with different superscripts are
Kidney 0.53 ± 0.007c 0.60 ± 0.003 b
0.64 ± 0.015a
significantly different (P  0.05).
Small intestine 4.97 ± 0.040b 6.13 ± 0.070a 6.15 ± 0.07a
thymus 0.54 ± 0.011c 0.62 ± 0.0.013 b
0.67 ± 0.006a
Spleen 0.22 ± 0.005c 0.26 ± 0.006b 0.29 ± 0.002a
increase in body weight and feed conversion by 7.72, 12.3%, Bursa 0.29 ± 0.003c 0.33 ± 0.005 b
0.38 ± 0.007a
Bursa 0.29 ± 0.003c 0.33 ± 0.005b 0.38 ± 0.007a
respectively, more than those of the control group.
Small intestine 11 ± 0.0700c 11.83 ± 0.048 b
12.2 ± 0.13a
Therefore, in our study, improvement in growth perfor-
length(cm)
mance and feed conversion ratio of the chicks supplemented
a,b,c e Means in the same row with different superscripts are
diet with “B. subtilis and E. faecium” may be attributed to the
significantly different (P  0.05).
total effect of supplementation on the maintenance of bene-
ficial microbial population that improving feed intake, diges-
tion and the uptake of nutrients (fatty acids and glucose) and
weight compared with control group. The effect of probiotic
increasing digestive enzyme activity.
on the relative weight of thymus was also investigated in this
study as shown in Table 4. Probiotic supplementation was
significantly increased the relative weight of thymus in all
3.2. Effect of biological supplementation on carcass
probiotic treatment groups as compared to the control group.
traits and relative organ weights
The significant increase in weight of thymus may be due to the
effect of probiotic bacteria on the functional activities of the
Data in Table 4 showed that, the relative weight of carcass,
immune system responses which led to increase in the
liver, heart, kidney, proventiculus, small intestine, thymus,
number of lymphocytes in the primary lymphoid organs.
spleen, bursa of Fabricius and small intestine length (cm) were
Measurement of immune organ weight is a common
significantly increased in the treated group as compared to the
method for evaluation of immune status in chickens (Heckert,
control during overall experimental period. And they highly
Estevez, Russek-Cohen, & Pettit, 2002). Such related organs
significantly increased in the third group (2 g/kg diet) than the
include thymus, bursa of Fabricius, liver and spleen. Good
second group (1 g/kg diet). These results were totally coincided
development of these organs is crucial for optimal Ig synthesis
with the observations of Awad et al. (2009) who reported that
(Glick, 1977). Therefore, beneficial effects of “B. subtilis and E.
carcass yield percentage was significantly increased in the
faecium” supplementation in the gastrointestinal tract could
probiotic fed broilers as compared with the control. Alkhalf
result in an improvement of overall health, performance and
et al. (2010) showed a significant increase in carcass yield
immune response of layer chicks.
percentage and immune organ weights in the probiotic sup-
plemented broiler chicks as comparison with the control
group. Zhang, Ma, and Doyle (2006) found that some probiotics 3.3. Effect of biological supplementation on blood
or synbiotics increased body weight of the chickens. Also, biochemical and hormonal
these results are in similar to the results of Waldroup, Fritts,
and Fenglan (2003). The significant increases in the absolute Data in Table 5 clearly showed no significant difference was
weight of the immune organs (thymus and bursa) were in recorded among the three groups (P  0.05) in serum total
harmony with the results of previous studies Wang, Du, Bai, protein, albumin, globulin and creatinine concentrations.
and Li (2003). The increase in the relative weight of spleen is While serum alkaline phosphatase, ALT, AST, uric acid, tri-
also in agreement with the findings of Willis, Isikhuemhen, glycerides and total cholesterol concentrations showed a sig-
and Ibrahim (2007) who found that the feeding broilers on nificant decrease in all treated groups than the control.
probiotic caused increases in the relative weights of spleen of Furthermore, serum concentration of glucose, calcium, inor-
treatment group. ganic phosphorus, and triiodothyronin hormone, showed a
The significant increase in relative weight of bursa of significant increase in the treated groups than the control
Fabricius may be attributed to increase the number of im- group.
mune cells. Findings encountered in this study is in agree- Our results were coincided with Al-Kassie, Al-Jumaa, and
ment with that of Shoeib, Sayed, Sotohy, and Abdel Ghaffar Jameel (2008) and Aluwong et al. (2012) who's showed no sig-
(1997) who found that the bursa of Fabricious in probiotic nificant differences in total protein, albumin and globulin
treated group showed an increase in the number of follicles between treatments with probiotics and control group. In
with high plasma cell reaction in the medulla. Meanwhile, Teo addition, Santoso, Tanaka, and Ohtania (1995) recorded that
and Tan (2007) observed that birds provided feed supple- the probiotics had a lower levels of AST and ALT enzymes.
mented with B. subtilis had a significantly heavier bursa While, Hussein (2014) reported that there were no effect on
 J o u r n a l o f R a d i a t i o n R e s e a r c h a n d A p p l i e d S c i e n c e s 9 ( 2 0 1 6 ) 1 8 5 e1 9 2 189

(2011) explained that microorganisms such as B. subtilis and

Table 5 e The effect of biological (Bacillus subtilis and
Bacillus licheniformis are able to synthesize estrase enzymes
Enterococcus faecium) supplementation on some blood
biochemistry of layer chicks. alongside with lipase enzymes, which converts free fatty acids
to esterified form triglyceride in intestinal content and finally
Blood Experimental groups
less chance for triglyceride absorption into the plasma. In
biochemistry
0 g/kg diet 1 gm/kg diet 2 gm/kg diet contrast, Owosibo, Odetola, Odunsi, Adejinmi, and Lawrence
a
Total protein(g/dl) 3.04 ± 0.02 3.04 ± 0.02a 3.02 ± 0.02a (2013) reported that the serum cholesterol value was signifi-
Albumin(g/dl) 1.29 ± 0.01a 1.28 ± 0.01a 1.30 ± 0.01a cantly increased by the probiotics supplementation in broiler
Globulin(g/dl) 1.74 ± 0.02a 1.76 ± 0.02a 1.72 ± 0.02a chicks. While, Kawahara, Ueda, and Nomura (1991) did not
Uric Acid(mg/dl) 5.07 ± 0.05a 4.88 ± 0.05b 4.54 ± 0.05c
find any effect of probiotics on serum cholesterol.
Creatinine(mg/dl) 0.77 ± 0.01a 0.78 ± 0.01a 0.78 ± 0.01a
Glucose(mg/dl) 69.74 ± 0.5c 75.08 ± 0.5b 78.54 ± 0.5a
Concerning to kidney function, our results revealed that
Calcium(mg/dl) 5.93 ± 0.05b 6.18 ± 0.05a 6.30 ± 0.05a there was no significant change in creatinine level among all
Phosphorus(mg/dl) 2.95 ± 0.06b 3.13 ± 0.06b 3.39 ± 0.05a the groups. On the other hand, similar to our data, Kamgar,
Alk. Phosphatase 41.16 ± 0.3a 38.26 ± 0.3b 35.68 ± 0.3c Pourgholam, Ghiasi, and Ghane (2013) reported that, there
(IU/L) was a significant increase in uric acid level in the control
ALT (u/ml) 38.70 ± 0.02a 38.40 ± 0.4a 35.73 ± 0.4b  et al. (2006)
group than the treated groups. While, Strompfova
AST (u/ml) 34.80 ± 0.3a 33.00 ± 0.3b 29.20 ± 0.3c
reported that there was no effect on serum uric acid levels by
Triglyceride(mg/dl) 189.2 ± 1.87a 174.8 ± 1.87b 159.7 ± 1.87c
Cholesterol(mg/dl) 166.49 ± 1.3a 156.08 ± 1.3b 138.33 ± 1.3c the addition of probiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as
T3(pg/ml) 1.70 ± 0.007c 1.77 ± 0.007b 1.85 ± 0.007a compared with the control. The significant decrease in uric
acid level in treated groups, indicating beneficial effect of the
a,b,c e Means in the same row with different superscripts are
significantly different (P  0.05). probiotic on the kidney function. On the other hand, certain
probiotic microorganisms can utilize urea, uric acid and
creatinine and other toxins as its nutrients for growth (Salim,
Abd-Allah, & Fararh, 2011). Any abnormal increase in serum
serum AST and ALT activities, after addition of probiotic levels of uric acid and creatinine may imply kidney damage
(Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as compared with the control treat- (Yalcin et al., 2012). Therefore, the relatively stable in serum
ment. The significant decrease in blood ALT and AST activities levels of uric acid and creatinine may be associated with renal
within the normal range in treated groups suggested normal protective effects of the probiotic.
status of liver function as a result of biological supplementa- In our study, the significant increase (P  0.05) in serum
tion with “B. subtilis and E. faecium”. While, the significant in- glucose concentration of the treated groups as compared with
crease in blood AST and ALT enzymes in control treatment the control are agreement with Hussein (2014) who found a
(without supplementation) act as hepatocellular damage in- higher blood glucose concentration in broilers fed on diets
dicator (Yalcin, Yalcin, Uzunoglu, Duyum, & Eltan, 2012). supplemented with probiotics. This increase might be related
In addition, the decrease in serum alkaline phosphatase to a temperate improvement in gluconeogenesis and
(ALP) activity obtained in the present study was agreement increased lactose absorption (Das, Medhi, & Islam, 2005).
with Aluwong et al. (2012) who reported a significant decrease While, our results are disagreement with Abd El-Baky (2007)
in the activities of serum alkaline phosphatase of the broiler who reported that there were no changes in blood glucose
chickens in all the probiotic supplemented groups, when level in broiler treated with probiotic. Unlike, Al-Kassie et al.
compared with the control. (2008) recorded reduction in serum glucose level in groups
The significant decrease in serum total cholesterol and receiving probiotics as compared with the control.
triglyceride levels (P  0.05) in our treated groups in compari- In addition, the significant increase (P  0.05) in serum
son to the control group are agreement with those finding by calcium and inorganic phosphorous concentrations in the
Hajjaj et al. (2005), Shareef and Al-Dabbagh (2009). They re- treated groups as compared with the control are agreement
ported that there were a significant decrease in serum con- with a study by Nahashon, Nakaue, and MIrosh (1996) who
centrations of cholesterol and triglyceride in broiler chicks by indicated beneficial effects of probiotic supplementation on
supplementation of Saccharomyces Cerevisae and B. subtilis to the damaged egg ratio through increased calcium retention in
diets. Also, similar results were obtained by Jouybari, Malbobi, layers. Gilman and Gashman (2006) and Scholz et al. (2007)
Irani, and Pour (2010), who reported significant reduction in reported that probiotics can enhance the calcium absorption
cholesterol by 12% and triglycerides in broilers fed probiotic from intestinal tract. In addition, Strompfova  et al. (2006) re-
based diets. Our results indicated that B. subtilis and E. faecium ported a significant increase in serum calcium level of treated
might have anticholesterolaremic properties, influenced fatty groups with strain of E. faecium than the control. While,
acid synthesis in the liver of layer chicks as indicated by a Hashemzadeh, Shaban, Mohammad, Karimi, and Ali Akbar
decrease activity of acetyl eCoA carboxylase (Skorve et al., (2013) reported no significant effect of probiotic on serum
1993). Other possible mechanism include assimilation of calcium and phosphorous levels in Broiler Chicks.
cholesterol by biological (B. subtilis and E. faecium) supple- Finally, our results indicated that serum concentration of
mentation, has the ability to produce active bile salt hydrolase triiodothyronin (T3) was significantly increased in the treated
and maintain bile salt homeostasis, this may need more bile groups as comparison with the control group as shown in
acids to be synthesized this in turn will reduce cholesterol Table 5. Similar result was obtained by Chotinsky and
levels in the body pool since cholesterol is the precursor for Mihaylov (2013), who showed a significant increase in serum
bile acids (Guo & Zhang, 2010). Also, Salarmoini and Fooladi level of triiodothyronin with the supplementation of
190 J o u r n a l o f R a d i a t i o n R e s e a r c h a n d A p p l i e d S c i e n c e s 9 ( 2 0 1 6 ) 1 8 5 e1 9 2

probiotics in the diet of broiler chickens. The present study

Table 7 e Effects of biological (Bacillus subtilis and
reports for the first time that, the influence of biological sup-
Enterococcus faecium) supplementation on antibody titres
plementation on the level of thyroid hormone in the blood to Newcastle disease virus of layer chicks.
serum of layer chicks and provides new interesting data about
Days of treatment Antibody titres against newcastle
a possible causal relationship between the growth promoting
disease virus
effect of probiotics and thyroid hormone. Depending on the
Experimental groups
previous results, it can be concluded that the observed sig-
nificant increase in the triiodothyronine (T3) in the treated 0 g/kg diet 1 gm/kg diet 2 gm/kg diet
groups as comparison with control group in this study is logic 3rd day 3.75 ± 0.25b 4.5 ± 0.29ab 5.25 ± 0.25a
since it is necessary for most body functions because they 7th day 5.25 ± 0.25c 7.25 ± 0.25b 8.25 ± 0.25a
directly affect a number of physiological and metabolic pro- 9th day 4.25 ± 0.25b 5.75 ± 0.25a 6.75 ± 0.475a
cesses (McNabb, 2000). Dawson, McNaughton, Goldsmith, and a,b,c e Means in the same row with different superscripts are
Degen (1994) showed a significant positive correlation be- significantly different (P  0.05).
tween thyroxin and body weight.

3.5. Effect of biological supplementation on immune

3.4. Effect of biological supplementation on
response
hematological responses

There is increasing interest in evaluating non-medical alter-

Results in Table 6 indicated that, biological supplementation
natives for antimicrobials and antiviruses in terms of their
induced a high significant effect on the level of Hb concen-
ability to improve disease resistance, and enhance overall
tration, PCV %, WBCs and RBC's counts in the treated groups
animal health and production in poultry. Therefore, in the
when compared with the control group. And the highly sig-
present study, attempts were made to evaluate the use of
nificant increase was found in the third group (2 g/kg diet).
biological (B. subtilis and E. faecium) and investigate the influ-
These results are agreement with Paryad and Mahmoudi
ence of such feed supplements on immune response.
(2008) who found that WBC's count was higher in broiler
Serum antibody titers against Newcastle disease virus
chicks fed different levels of probiotics than those fed diets
based on HI test in chicken fed basal diet supplemented with
without probiotics. Also, Abdollahi, Kamyab, Bazzazzadekan,
“B. subtilis and E. faecium” was significantly higher (P  0.05)
Nik-khah, and Shahneh (2003) reported that supplementa-
than those of chickens in the control group on days 3, 7 and 9
tion of broiler diets with B. subtilis probiotics increased
post vaccinations (Table 7). These findings are in agreement
leukocyte numbers. Cetin, Güçlü, and Cetin (2005) observed in
with several studies. Rowghani, Arab, and Akbarian (2007)
turkey that the probiotic supplementation caused statistically
reported that broiler chickens fed a diet supplemented with
significant increases in the erythrocyte count, hemoglobin
probiotic had a significant increase in the Newcastle antibody
concentration and hematocrit values. Also, Strompfova  et al.
titers than the control group. Also, King and Seal (1998) and
(2006) reported a significant increase in the concentrations
Rowghani et al. (2007) reported that the antibody titers against
of hemoglobin, hematocrit value and red blood cell count after
ND in broilers fed with diets supplemented with probiotics
application of strain E. faecium. The previous study would be
containing B. subtilis was significantly higher at 10 days post-
explained as the supplementation of dried B. subtilis and E.
immunization compared to the control birds. While, our re-
faecium to the basal diet resulted in better iron salt absorption
sults are disagree with Thongsong, Thongsong, and
from the small intestine and better produce of vitamins B that
Chavananikul (2008) who found that there was no significant
affecting positively blood-cell forming processes (Kander,
difference in the antibody titer responses to ND between
2004). Moreover, increased blood WBC's count might be
treated and untreated groups. The significant increase in
related to the production of more immune cells (Gaggı̀a,
antibody titer production against Newcastle ND, compared to
Mattarelli, & Biavati, 2010) that play an important role in
control group may be due to immune-stimulatory and
defending the biological system against different diseases
immune-modulatory effect of using biological (B. subtilis and
(LaFleur & LaFleur, 2008).
E. faecium) supplementation. Noverr and Huffnagle (2004)
indicated that some probiotic could stimulate a protective
immune response sufficiently to enhance resistance to mi-
Table 6 e Effects of biological (Bacillus subtilis and crobial pathogens. At the end of experiment, serological data
Enterococcus faecium) supplementation on some blood from the present study showed the effectiveness of “B. subtilis
hematology levels of layer chicks.
and E. faecium “supplementation on immune response of
Trails Experimental groups birds.
0 g/kg diet 1 gm/kg diet 2 gm/kg diet
6
RBCs Count
10 5.0 ± 0.012c 5.23 ± 0.027b 5.44 ± 0.025a
Hb (g/dl) 9.38 ± 0.43b 10.75 ± 0.43a 11.23 ± 0.13a
4. Conclusions
PCV % 28.25 ± 0.47b 32.5 ± 0.865a 34.25 ± 0.48a
WBCs Count
1000 281.5 ± 7.53c 339 ± 7.14b 365.25 ± 6.89a
Biological (B. subtilis and E. faecium) supplementation can be
a,b,c e Means in the same row with different superscripts are
used safely as immune-stimulatory, hypolipidemic, improve
significantly different (P  0.05).
haematological parameters, improve the digestibility of feed,
 J o u r n a l o f R a d i a t i o n R e s e a r c h a n d A p p l i e d S c i e n c e s 9 ( 2 0 1 6 ) 1 8 5 e1 9 2 191

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