G, Hargis BM, Téllez-Isaías G. Assessment of the Impact of Humic Acids on Intestinal Microbiota, Gut Integrity, Ileum Morphometry, and Cellular Immunity of Turkey Poults Fed an Aflatoxin B1-Contaminated Diet

A recent study published data on the growth performance, relative weights of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, liver histology, serum biochemistry, and hematological parameters for turkey poults fed an experimental diet contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and humic acids (HA) extracted from vermicompost. The negative effects of AFB1 (250 ng AFB1/g of feed) were significantly reduced by HA supplementation (0.25% w/w), suggesting that HA might be utilized to ameliorate the negative impact of AFB1 from contaminated diets. The present study shows the results of the remaining variables, as an extension of a previously published work which aimed to evaluate the impact of HA on the intestinal microbiota, gut integrity, ileum morphometry, and cellular immunity of turkey poults fed an AFB1-contaminated diet. For this objective, five equal groups of 1-day-old female Nicholas-700 turkey poults were randomly assigned to the following treatments: negative control (basal diet), positive control (basal diet + 250 ng AFB1/g), HA (basal diet + 0.25% HA), HA + AFB1 (basal diet + 0.25% HA + 250 ng AFB1/g), and Zeolite (basal diet + 0.25% zeolite + 250 ng AFB1/g). In the experiment, seven replicates of ten poults each were used per treatment (n = 70). In general, HA supplementation with or without the presence of AFB1 showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the number of beneficial butyric acid producers, ileum villi height, and ileum total area, and a significant reduction in serum levels of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-d), a marker of intestinal integrity. In contrast, poults fed with AFB1 showed a significant increase in Proteobacteria and lower numbers of beneficial bacteria, clearly suggesting gut dysbacteriosis. Moreover, poults supplemented with AFB1 displayed the lowest morphometric parameters and the highest intestinal permeability. Furthermore, poults in the negative and positive control treatments had the lowest cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity response. These findings suggest that HA supplementation enhanced intestinal integrity (shape and permeability), cellular immune response, and healthier gut microbiota composition, even in the presence of dietary exposure to AFB1. These results complement those of the previously published study, suggesting that HA may be a viable dietary intervention to improve gut health and immunity in turkey poults during aflatoxicosis.

Efficacy of water application of a humic substance, butyric acid, vitamins C, D, and E and/or electrolytes on performance and mortality in health-challenged nursery pigs¹

Health challenges continue to be rampant in nursery pigs which has led to increased industry-wide mortality trends. Therefore, the objective of these three studies was to evaluate a water supplement (HV; HydraVantage, Kent Nutrition Group, Muscatine, IA) which is a proprietary blend of a humic substance, butyric acid, and vitamins C, D, and E, as well as an electrolyte blend on nursery pig performance and mortality. Experiment 1 consisted of 196 crossbred weanling pigs (7 pigs per pen with 14 pens per treatment) which were randomly allotted by BW to two treatments consisting of control (water for 33 d) or HV at 15 g/L of stock solution and proportioned through a medicator (1:128) for 11 d followed by water for 22 d. There were no performance differences. However, mortality was reduced (P < 0.01) from 6.12% for the control to 0.00% for HV. In experiment 2, there were 488 weanling pigs (6 to 10 pigs/pen with 14 pens per treatment) which were randomly allotted by BW to four treatments in a 34-d trial. Treatment 1 was control (water), and treatments 2 and 4 were HV at 15 g/L of stock solution for 11 and 34 d, respectively. Treatment 3 utilized HV at 15 g/L stock solution during days 0 to 11 with 7.5 g HV/L stock solution utilized during days 11 to 21 followed by water. No performance differences were observed among the four treatments. Mortality was 10.89%, 4.82%, 5.54%, and 7.26% for treatments 1 to 4, respectively, with treatment 1 having a higher mortality (P < 0.05) compared to treatments 2 to 4. In experiment 3, a 2 × 2 factorial study was conducted (7 pigs per pen with 14 pens per treatment) in which the treatments were: 1) water; 2) HV at 15 g/L stock solution for 34 d; 3) electrolytes at 241 g/L stock solution for 34 d; and 4) HV at 15 g/L of stock solution and electrolytes at 226 g/L of stock for 34 d. Overall pen gain tended to be improved (P = 0.09) with supplemental HV. Moreover, mortality was reduced (P = 0.06) by 36% (16.86% mortality for treatments 1 and 3 vs. 10.73% mortality for treatments 2 and 4). Supplemental electrolytes had no effect on mortality. These data suggest that HV has a positive effect by reducing mortality in nursery pigs undergoing health challenges.

Effects of humic acid and organic acids supplements on performance, meat quality, leukocyte count, and histopathological changes in spleen and liver of broiler chickens

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of Humic Acid (HA), Organic Acids (OA), and their combination (HAOA) on the growth performance, meat quality, leukocyte count, and histopathological changes in the liver and spleen of broiler chickens. A total of 2100 one-day-old mix-sexed broiler chickens were randomly divided into 4 groups with 5 replicates per treatment using 105 birds per pen (pen is used as an experimental unit). Treatments were: 1) Control (basal diet without additives), 2) Basal diet +0.1% HA, 3) Basel diet +0.1% HA+ 0.02% OA, 4) Basel diet +0.02% OA. Growth performance was not significantly affected by all dietary treatments during the experiment period. Sensory evaluation of breast meat indicated a significant positive response for color and smell corresponding to treatment 2) Basal diet +0.1% HA and treatment 3) Basel diet +0.1% HA+ 0.02% OA (P < 0.05). Birds receiving HA and HAOA developed fewer hepatic lesions compared to the control group (P < 0.05) and showed normal spleen structure with the extension of the white pulp area. Supplementation of HAOA corresponds to a lower heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratio. The combination of HA and OA improves sensory attributes of cooked breast meat, H/L ratio, and preserves the histological structure of the spleen and liver of broiler chickens. HAOA can be recommended as a combined feed additive to improve broiler chickens' health.

Effects of multicarbohydrase and butyrate glycerides on productive performance, nutrient digestibility, gut morphology, and ileal microbiota in late-phase laying hens fed corn- or wheat-based diets

A study was undertaken to determine the effects of supplemental multicarbohydrase (MC) and butyrate glycerides (BG) on productive performance, nutritional, and physiological responses in laying hens fed corn- or wheat-based diets during a 12-week production period (from 50–62 wk of age). The experiment consisted of a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of the treatments with 2 different basal diets (corn- or wheat-based diets), 2 concentrations of MC (0 or 200 mg/kg of diet), and 2 concentrations of BG (0 or 2 g/kg of diet). Each treatment had 6 replicates with 8 hens each. The interactions among diet, MC, and BG were observed for egg production (P = 0.048), feed conversion ratio (P = 0.005), and ileal Escherichia coli count (P = 0.043), indicating that the effects of MC and BG on these responses were more marked when wheat-based diet was fed. A diet × MC interaction (P < 0.05) was also detected for egg mass, eggshell breaking strength, jejunal viscosity, and digestibility coefficients of fat and ash. Replacing 100% of the corn with wheat in the diets of laying hens negatively affected (P < 0.05) yolk color index, eggshell thickness, digesta viscosity, jejunal morphology, and populations of ileal microbiota. By contrast, MC supplementation increased (P < 0.05) eggshell thickness, digestibility coefficients of energy and crude protein, and populations of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp. in the ileum. Inclusion of BG also resulted in greater (P < 0.05) jejunal villus height and villus surface area, and digestibility coefficients of protein and ash, but lower (P < 0.05) populations of total bacteria, Salmonella and E. coli in the ileum. Results indicate that while the complete substitution of corn by wheat has a detrimental effect on productive performance and gut health, the combination of MC and BG may have synergistic effects on improving productive performance and intestinal microbiota in laying hens fed the wheat-based diets during the late laying period.

Dietary supplementation with sodium humate improves egg quality and immune function of laying hens

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the dietary addition of sodium humate (HAS) on performance and immune response of laying hens during peak lay, over an eight-week period. Laying hens, aged 24 weeks old, were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments: a basal control diet or the basal diet supplemented with 0.1, 0.3 or 0.5% HAS. Each treatment had six replicates with 15 layers per replicate. Egg production, egg quality, serum antioxidant parameters and immunity indexes were measured. HAS had no significant effect on egg production or egg and shell quality, but all supplemental levels significantly improved Haugh unit values and egg yolk colour. Supplementation with all levels of HAS significantly increased serum immunoglobuline (Ig) level compared to the hens fed the control diet. Feeding either 0.1 or 0.5% HAS significantly increased serum IgM levels. The results indicated that dietary supplementation with HAS can enhance egg albumin quality and improve immunity in laying hens.