Effects of Dietary Probiotic, Prebiotic and Enzyme Mixture Supplementation on Performance, Carcase, Organ, Ileal pH and Viscosity of Broilers

Objective: The experiment was conducted to determine the individual and combined effects of probiotic, prebiotic and enzyme on performance, carcase, organ, intestinal pH and viscosity of broilers. Material and Methods: A total of seven hundred day-old male Ross-308 broiler chicks were individually weighted and distributed into 28 floor pens with 25 chicks per pen in from 0 to 42 d of age. Seven starter and grower diets were formulated to provide a similar nutrient profile with the exception of using experimental feed additives (1 g per kg) or a combined addition of these additives (0.5 g+0.5 g per kg). The diets were supplemented with: no feed additives (control), probiotic, prebiotic, enzyme, probiotic+prebiotic, probiotic+enzyme mixture, prebiotic+enzyme mixture. Results: Probiotic, probiotic+prebiotic and probiotic+enzyme supplementation significantly increased body weights at 42 days (P<0.05). There were no differences in feed intake, feed conversion ratio, relative weights of the proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon, cecum liver, pancreas, spleen, heart and bursa of broilers among the treatments during the experiment (P>0.05). Intestinal pH and viscosity were decreased by adding feed additives when compared with the control. Conclusion: The synergistic effects between probiotics, prebiotics and enzymes should be further investigated, and suitable combinations and levels should be determined in practice.