broilers

In the present study, a total of 336 one-day-old broiler chickens (Ross 308 strain) were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments to evaluate the effects of barley rootlets (BR) as a feedstuff in broiler nutrition. Dietary treatments consisted of a control group based on corn and soybean meal, along with three additional treatments, similar to the control but including 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5% BR. Feeding diets containing BR impaired broiler growth performance as reflected in poor feed conversion ratio and body weight gain. Inclusion of BR at 4.5% significantly increased digesta viscosity in jejunum and reduced the villus height to crypt depth ratio with concomitant increase in the moisture content of the litter. In conclusion, the use of BR can be limited up to 1.5% and the levels above that impair broiler response. Poor growth performance resulting from BR was associated with reduced feed consumption, increased viscosity of intestinal contents, and reduced villus height to crypt depth ratio. Levels of BR above 4.5% caused poor litter quality as indicated by higher moisture content in the litter.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) supplementation to reduced protein diets on performance, carcass characteristics and blood parameters of broiler chickens. For this purpose, 240 male Ross 308 broilers were allocated to 6 treatments with 4 replications and 10 birds per replication. The dietary treatments consisted of a 3×2 factorial arrangement of reduced dietary CP (100%, 90 and 80% of Ross 308, 2009 recommendation), with or without GAA (0.06%). Body weight gain was significantly reduced when dietary ideal protein was reduced by 20%, during 11-24 and 25-42 days of age (P<0.05). The transition from 100 to 80% CP, increased feed conversion ratio significantly during grower period. An interaction was found between CP level and GAA for feed intake during 11-24 and 25-42 days of age. GAA addition reduced feed intake of treatments with reduced protein diet (80% of management guide recommendation). Body weight gain and FCR were not affected by dietary GAA supplementation. Addition of guanidine acetic acid in the diet resulted in relatively higher carcass performance and significantly lower heart weight (P<0.05). It was concluded form the result of the current experiment that reducing the ideal protein to 80 % of management guide recommendation resulted in inferior growth performance and dietary GAA supplementation did not improve the bird’s performance.

The effect of utilization of feed disinfected with ozone gas on performance, carcass characteristics and blood parameters of broilers was investigated using 432 Ross 308 male broilers in a 3×2 factorial arrangement with three levels of ozone gas (zero, 20, and 30 parts per million) and two levels of fat including low (1.5 and 2% vegetable oil for grower and finisher periods, respectively) and high (3 and 4% of vegetable oil for grower and finisher periods, respectively) in a completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 4 replications of 18 birds in each. At 42 days of age, two birds were selected from each replication and slaughtered after weighing and the weights of the carcass, heart, liver, small intestine, and ceca were measured precisely. The results showed that the weight gain of chicks fed a high-fat, ozone-free diet was significantly higher than that of chicks fed a high-fat, gassed with a 20 ppm ozone diet (P <0.05). The ceca weight of chicks fed low-fat diets was higher than that of birds fed high-fat diets and birds fed diets gassed with 20 ppm ozone had higher ceca weight (P <0.05). According to the results of this experiment, it seems that the utilization of ozone gas for the disinfection of diets containing high levels of fat has a negative effect on feed quality and reduces the performance of broilers.

Stocking density is one of the important concern in the poultry industry and it is related to the poultry productivity and animal welfare. Stocking density for broiler chickens is defined as the number of birds or the total live weight of birds in a fixed space. Increasing broiler number in breeding environment increases led to a higher production of chicken meat, but, if stocking density exceeds over the proper range, the productivity is rather decreased because of increased health problems and decreased growth performance of broiler chickens. Natural betaine is found in several plants and organisms and it is commonly extracted and purified from beetroot. It is classified as a methyl-ammonia due to three chemically-active methyl groups bound to the nitrogen atom of a glycine molecule), and it is considered the only readily active methyl-group donor The biosynthesis of betaine is made by the oxidation of choline in the cell mitochondrion. However, this reaction is not interesting because choline deviated from its essential role in the transmission of nerve impulses, and in addition, choline content in typical corn- and soybean-based broiler diets is not sufficient supply their cell requirements for methylated compounds. Another positive aspect obtained with the dietary inclusion of betaine is the methionine-saving effect, that is, betaine donates methyl groups instead of methionine in a reaction with homocysteine.

This experiment was performed to evaluate the effect of betaine supplement utilization on growth performance and carcass and meat quality of broilers at different stocking density. For this reason, 216 one-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were used in a 2×2 factorial arrangements with four treatments including two stocking density (7 and 15 chicks per m2) and two betaine levels (0 and 0.1 percent) and four replications. During the starter (0-10 days), grower (11-25 days), and finisher (26-42 days) phases, the birds were fed according to the Ross 308 recommendations. The diet and water were provided ad libitum during the trial. The body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured for each phases. At the end of the experiment, two birds per replicate with body weight close to the average of each cage were slaughtered to determine the Carcass characteristics after removal of head, feathers and feet. Carcass yields were calculated relative to the live body weight. After slaughter, the right thigh and breast of broiler chickens were separated and kept at 4°C for measuring meat quality traits including water Holding Capacity, cooking loss, pH and drip loss. To determine the WHC, 4 g of breast muscle were placed in a filter paper and centrifuged at 1500×g for 4 min, Then the samples were placed in an oven at 70°C for 24 h to be dried (Castellini et al., 2002). In the case of cook loss, a piece of 1 cm3 of breast muscle was weighed and kept at 4°C for 24 h, then placed in a water bath at 85°C for 10 min and finally cleaned and re-weighed with a linen cloth (Bertram et al., 2003). For the measurement of drip loss, a piece of breast muscle was weighed and placed in a plastic bag and kept at 4°C for 24 h. The meat was then gently rubbed into the cloth and weighed again (Christensen, 2003). All data were analyzed by ANOVA utilizing GLM procedure of SAS. Means were compared for significant differences utilizing the Tukey multiple range test (P˂0.05).

The results showed that feed intake and weight gain decreased significantly during the grower, finisher and whole production periods at high stocking density (P<0.05). These results agree with previous experiments that reported high stocking density decreased growth performance of broiler chickens compared with low stocking density. This could be related to various environmental and behavioral factors such as less birds’ movements in a given space, and more difficulty accessing to feeders and drinkers and also the competition for food intake (Cengiz et al., 2015). The addition of 0.1% betaine increased weight gain and decreased feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). This is in agreement with other researchers who reported that addition of betaine to broiler diet under heat stress increased growth performance due to antioxidant capacity and lowering stress indexes (Sakomura et al., 2013). Studies indicated that betaine supplementation may be beneficial to the intestinal epithelium due to its osmolyte function, maintaining villi integrity and consequently promoting better nutrient digestibility and absorption (Eklund et al., 2005). The broiler carcass and breast relative weights decreased as stocking density increased (P<0.05), however the effect of stocking density was not significant on the relative weights of thigh, liver, bursa of Fabricius, spleen and abdominal fat (P>0.05). The utilization of betaine supplement increased the relative weights of carcass and breast and decreased the relative weight of ventral fat (P<0.05). It was expected that the dietary supplementation of betaine would influence carcass and parts weights due to its methyl-group donor property, which would increase methionine, cystine, and glycine for protein synthesis and also its contribution to reduce fat deposition in the carcass (Sakomura et al., 2013). The cooking loss increased and meat water holding capacity decreased as stocking density increased, while the addition of betaine led to increase in meat water holding capacity and decrease in drip and cooking losses (P<0.05). osmotic property of betaine and its role in maintaining cell water, may be the reason of better meat quality of broiler with betaine supplementation.

Increasing the stocking density had negative effects on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality. It seems that the dietary addition of betaine supplement could be a suitable approach for alleviating the negative effects of increasing the stocking density in broilers production via improvement in growth performance.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ammonium acetate on reducing the amount of fungal toxins in feed and its effect on performance, carcass characteristics and some blood parameters of broiler chickens. For this purpose, 300 one-day-old broilers (Ross 308) were used in a completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 5 repetitions and 10 birds in each repetition. Corn-soybean meal based experimental treatments included negative control (without fungal toxins), positive control (basal diet containing corn contaminated with aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A and zearalenone) and positive control diets containing 0.04, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.1 g/kg of ammonium acetate. Performance traits were measured during the starter, grower, finisher and whole the experimental period. Carcass characteristics and blood parameters were determined at day 42 of age. The results showed that the birds treated with negative control diet and positive control diet containing 0.08 and 0.1 g/kg of ammonium acetate had higher daily feed intake, weight gain, carcass yield and breast weight as compared to the positive control treated birds. Birds receiving the negative control diet and positive control diets containing different levels of ammonium acetate had lower AST and ALT concentrations than the birds in positive control treatment. In general, it was found that the consumption of 0.08 and 0.1 g/kg of ammonium acetate in the contaminated feed with fungal toxins improves the performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens through removing the negative effects of the toxins.

Oxidative stress is inevitable in broiler chicken production, and it affects the physiological, behavioral, and biochemical status of growing chicken which ultimately deteriorates meat quality. The imbalance among free radicals and antioxidant enzymes within living cells or tissues leads to the oxidation of lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids and is a fundamental cause of oxidative stress. When the antioxidant mechanism within living cells weakens, the production of free radicals increases under physiological oxygen metabolism, and reactive species (i.e., reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species) are needed in cells in small quantities because they function as signaling molecules during homeostasis. However, excessive production of these species leads to oxidative stress. There is a mechanism in living cells to reduce the number of oxidative species through physiological scavenging. Numerous reactive oxygen species such assuperoxide and hydrogen peroxide are produced during oxygen metabolism. In addition, some reports showed that after the occurrence of oxidative stress, there are severe inflammatory reactions in the cells involved, which can lead to greater tissue damage and activate tissue apoptosis. Oxidative stress plays an essential role in the emergence of a number of chronic disorders such as diabetes and cancer by inducing inflammation. To protect against free radicals, living organisms have a combined antioxidant defense system including enzymatic system (such as glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase enzymes in the cytosol and cell membrane structure) and a non-enzymatic system (such as glutathione, polyphenol, carotenoids, special dipeptides, proteins containing thiol group, polyamines, ubiquinol, flavonoids, bilirubin, uric acid, vitamin E with selenium, and vitamin C) in tissues. Black cumin seeds (Nigella sativa) have been used as alternative medicine for more than 2000 years due to their multisystemic positive effects. Many active components of black cumin have been identified, including dithymoquinone, thymoquinone, nigellone, thymohydroquinone, nigilline, melanthin, nigelamine, damascenone, pinene, and p-cymene. Black cumin contains minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, cobalt, zinc, and manganese, and vitamins A, B, C, D, and E. Moreover, black cumin is rich in essential oils, proteins, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, and polyphenols. The black cumin has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anthelmintic, hypocholesteremia, appetite stimulant, antidiarrheal, diuretic, antiulcer, spasmolytic and bronchodilatory, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anticancer, hepatoprotective, and renal protective activities and has antioxidant properties. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of black cumin on growth performance, antioxidant status, inflammatory responses, and biochemical and hematological changes in broilers under oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide.

A total of 200 one-day-old chickens (Ross 308) were reared in the form of a completelyrandomized design with four treatments and five replications (10 chickens per replicate). Experimental treatments included: 1. Control group (fed with basic diet), and groups 2, 3, and 4 had levels of 50, 100, and 150 g of black seed per kg of diet. To induce oxidative stress, all birds received 1% hydrogen peroxide per liter of drinking water from 14 to 42 days of age. At 42 d, two birds were randomly selected from each cage and after blood sampling from the wing vein, were killed and dissected for liver and spleen tissue sampling. Growth performance, blood and biochemical parameters such as the number of red and white blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, heterophil and lymphocyte, serum triglyceride, and cholesterol, as well as serum antioxidant parameters including the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity of antioxidant enzymes including glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase, were determined. In addition, liver enzymes present in the serum including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured. Also, to evaluate the effect of black cumin on the inflammatory response of broiler chickens under induced oxidative stress, serum interleukins including IL-10, IL-6, and TNF-α were measured.

The results showed that black seed supplementation in chickens under induced oxidative stress significantly improved the growth performance, increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes, and decreased MDA in serum, liver tissue, and spleen (P<0.05). Black seed supplementation significantly decreased serum levels of inflammatory cytokines of IL-6 and TNF-α, and increased anti-inflammatory cytokine of IL-10 (P<0.05). Also, black seed supplementation did not affect red blood cells, hematocrit, or hemoglobin, but increased white blood cells, lymphocytes, and decreased blood heterophils (P<0.05). Serum levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, ALT, AST, and ALP also decreased significantly under the influence of black seed.

Based on the results of this experiment, it appears that black cumin (Nigella sativa) seed supplement can improve the growth performance of broiler chickens due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Today, livestock and poultry health in the advanced production system is the main challenge affecting human health and the global economy. For years, antibiotics have been widely used as growth promoters to stabilize the microbial population of the digestive tract and improve performance. However, scientific evidence suggests that the massive use of these compounds has led to increased problem of antibiotic resistance and presence of antibiotics residues in feed and compromises human and animal health. Hence, there is a growing need to find effective alternatives to control infectious diseases and limit the spread of resistant bacteria.Organic acids are an alternative to antibiotics in poultry diets. These are improving the immune system of broilers by acidifying the gastrointestinal tract and improving the intestinal microflora. Coating of organic acids prevents their dissociation and digestion in the stomach so that the biological effect of organic acids reaches the distal parts of the gastrointestinal tract and is effective in intestinal microflora and mucosal morphology. Also, Essential oils are volatile oil compounds that are produced as secondary metabolites by plants. Essential oils extracted from plants have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, antioxidant activities as well as immune-modulating effects, reducing blood fat and stimulating the digestive system of poultry. Organic acids can complete the effect of essential oils through synergism antibacterial and bactericidal activities. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of different levels of butyric acid glycerides and clove oil on growth performance, blood parameters and tibia bone characteristics of broiler chickens.  A total of 300 male and female broilers (Ross 308) with a completely randomized design with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement, two levels of butyric acid glycerides (0 and 0.2 %) and three levels of clove oil (0, 500 and 1000 mg/kg) were used. Each of the six dietary treatments was fed to five replicate pens of 10 birds each from 0 to 42 days of age. Body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, weights of immune organs, plasma lipids and physical and mineral characteristics of the tibia were recorded. The collected data were analyzed using SAS software (2003) and using the general linear model (GLM) procedure. The equation of the statistical model of the experiment was according to the relation Yijk = µ + Ai + Bj + (AB)ij + eijk, where Yijk represents the numerical value of each observation, µ is the population mean, Ai is the effect of butyric acid glycerides (0 and 0.2%), Bj was the effect of clove oil (0, 500 and 1000 mg/kg), ij (AB) was the interaction effect of butyric acid glycerides and clove oil, and eijk was the experimental error. The results showed that the addition of 0.2% butyric acid glycerides in the diet of broiler chickens reduced feed intake, body weight and daily weight gain compared to the control group (P<0.05). Addition of 1000 mg/kg of clove oil in the diet reduced feed intake, body weight, daily weight gain and european production index compared to the control group (P<0.05). Body weight, feed efecioncy, european efficiency factor and feed conversion ratio of broiler chickens were affected by the interaction effect of butyric acid glycerides and clove oil (P<0.05). The addition of different levels of clove oil with and without butyric acid glycerides in the broiler diet reduced cholesterol and LDL concentration compared to the control group (P<0.05). But the concentration of triglyceride, HDL and VLDL were not affected by the experimental treatments. The interaction effect of clove oil and butyric acid glycerides did not affect the weight of bursa of fabricius, thymus and spleen of broiler chickens. The amount of calcium, phosphorus and ash of tibia bone was significantly affected by butyric acid glycerides. Also, the length of the tibia of broiler chickens was affected by the clove oil and the interaction effect of butyric acid glycerides and clove oil (p<0.05). In general, no synergistic effect was observed between butyric acid glycerides and clove oil on growth performance of chickens. Although the use of 0.2% butyric acid glycerides and 1000 mg/kg clove oil led to a decrease in the weight gain of chickens by reducing feed intake, but the addition of butyric acid glycerides caused an increase in the concentration of phosphorus, calcium and ash in the tibia bone of broiler chickens.

Aflatoxin B1 is the most dangerous form of aflatoxins that could be produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus molds. Contamination of feedstuffs with aflatoxins is problematic during the manufacturing, processing, storage, and transportation stages, and it has adverse effects on the health and productivity of poultry and human health. By using inorganic and organic toxin binders in poultry feed, aflatoxins are not allowed to be absorbed through the animal's digestive system, and it is considered a good solution to reduce their negative effects.

In this research, the effects of adding a multi-component toxin binder to diets containing aflatoxin B1 were investigated on growth performance, carcass traits, and immune parameters of broilers, by using 180 one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) in a 3×3 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design with three levels of toxin binder (0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 kg/ton) and three levels of aflatoxin B1 (0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/kg) in nine treatments, four replications, and five chickens in each replicate.

The results showed that the using of 1.0 kg/ton of toxin binder significantly reduced the negative effects of 0.5 mg/kg of aflatoxin B1 on the average daily feed intake and weight gain in the finisher and entire production periods and the final live weight in whole production period (P<0.05). The regression equations (Y= -25.033x+ 65.734) with (R2= 0.97), (Y= -23.961x+ 64.844) with (R2= 0.91), and (Y= -15.133x+ 64.319) with (R2= 0.75) were obtained to predict the average daily weight gain of birds fed with treatments containing 0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 kg/ton of "Delta bond®" toxin binder and different levels of aflatoxin B1, respectively. Feeding chickens with diets containing aflatoxin B1 significantly increased liver and spleen weights (P<0.05). All treatments containing 1.0 mg/kg of aflatoxin B1 and treatments containing 0.5 mg/kg of aflatoxin B1 and 0.0 and 0.5 kg/ton of toxin binder showed a significant decrease in the bursa of Fabricius weight compared to the other treatments (P<0.05). In addition, the treatment containing 1.0 mg/kg of aflatoxin B1 without a toxin binder increased heart weight compared to the other treatments (P<0.05). In the case of immune parameters, the amount of heterophils and the ratio of heterophils to lymphocytes were significantly increased and the number of lymphocytes was significantly decreased as the aflatoxin B1 level increased (P<0.05). Furthermore, there were no significant effects for the main and interaction of aflatoxin B1 and the toxin binder for the Newcastle antibody titer.

Based on the results, the addition of 1.0 kg/ton of a multi-component toxin binder to diets containing 0.5 mg/kg aflatoxin B1 can improve the average daily feed intake and weight gain in the finisher and entire production periods, final live weight, and bursa of Fabricius weight of broilers.

Copy number variation (CNV) consist of deletion, insertion, and duplications. It is an important source of genetic variation in organisms and thus influences on the gene expression and phenotypic variation. Copy number variation (CNV) is one of the structural variant with an intermediate size class larger than 50bp which involves unbalanced rearrangements that increase or decrease the amount of DNA (Pirooznia et al 2015, Alkan et al 2011). The size of CNVs is larger than 50bp, while smaller segments are known as insertions or deletions (indels). Thereupon these structural variations comprise more polymorphic than SNPs because of enormity, detection of them and their effect on phenotype has caught the attention of many researchers recently. It has been reported that CNVs changes in gene dosage and regulation as well as in transcript structure, and thus contribute to phenotypic variability (Pirooznia et al 2015, Alkan et al 2011). The pea-comb phenotype is caused by a CNV mapping to intron 1 of the SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 5 (SOX5) gene (Wright et al. 2009). Late feathering in chickens is due to incomplete duplication in PRLR and SPEF2 genes (Elfrink et al. 2008). In swine, dominant white colour has been related with a duplication of a 450-kb fragment of the KIT gene (Giuffra et al. 1999) and a splice mutation causing the skipping of exon 17 (Giuffra et al. 1999). In sheep, doubling in the ASIP gene results in the regulation of pigment in body coat (Norris et al. 2008). Doubling the 4.6 k base pair into the six introns of the STX17 gene results in a gray body color in the horse with age. Deletion of the intergenic region with a length of 11.7 kbp in the goat genome leads to the removal of horns (Clop et al. 2012). Chicken is the most intensively farmed animal on earth and is a major food source with billions of birds used in meat and egg production each year. A big share of chicken CNVs involves protein coding or regulatory sequences. A comprehensive study of chicken CNV can provide valuable information on genetic diversity and assist future analyses of associations between CNV and economically important traits in chickens. Unique chicken genome with macro and micro chromosomes and its biology make it an ideal organism for studies in development and evolution, as well as applications in agriculture and medicine (Burt 2005). In the last several years, There has been an increasing interest in the study of CNVs in the chicken. This study focuses on comparison of CNV between the broilers and layers chicken to find evidence of domestication on the genome using whole genome sequencing.

we used n=90 female birds of two commercial broiler (n=40) and layer (n=50) chicken. The broilers (BRs) were represented by 20 DNA samples of each of two lines (BRA and BRB) established independently and previously collected as part of the AVIANDIV project. In the layer group (LRs), data from 25 birds each from purebred white (WL) and brown (BL) egg laying populations, sequenced in the frame of the SYNBREED project (http://www.synbreed.tum.de/index.php?id=2 ,(were included. The paired-end reads with a read length of 101bp were mapped against the current reference genome assembly Galgal6 using the Burrows-Wheeler aligner (bwa, 0.6.2-r126 Version, with default parameters. Duplicate reads were masked during post-processing using the Picard tool set (version 2.9.2, http://picard.sourceforge.net). Finally, Genome Analysis Toolkit-3.3.0 was used to realign reads for correcting errors caused by InDels. Using GATK software package and Depth Of Coverage function (McKenna et al 2010), the depth of readings was calculated for each sample. Then filter out reads with mapping quality below 20. Because comparing the genomes of individuals in different groups was time consuming and computationally difficult for all parts of the genome, the genomes of each individual were divided into 1000 bp non-overlapping windows and the average reading depth per window was calculated. Then the results were normalized against the BL sample that showed highest average depth. In short, we created a correction factor per population and applied it on the depth of coverage value for each window. For all the contrasts, we performed an analysis of variance (ANOVA) as described (Carneiro et al 2014). For the Broilers-Layers contrast we scanned 935247 windows. 70372 windows showed significant by FDR with P < 0.001, with ANOVA using the Benjamini-Hochberg FDR method for multiple corrections (Benjamini and Hochberg 1995).

Mapping sequencing data to galGal6 assembly showed an average 98.61% mapping rate and 11.51 depth. Manhattan plot was plotted for regions of the genome that differed significantly between the two groups (FDR = 0.001). The points above the hypothetical line were identified and examined in a 25 Kbp confidence interval to identify possible genes. 39 regions were identified that half of them dose not contain any genes. Although Long noncoding RNAs are under lower selective pressure than protein-coding genes (Batista and Chang 2013), The other 11 regions contained 16 genes related to long non-coding RNAs. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in organizing the 3-dimensional genome architecture and regulating gene activity in cis or in trans through multiple mechanisms (Zhang et al 2019, Batista and Chang 2013). 6 othere regions also contained 12 coding genes. Most of the identified genes were somehow linked to the immune system disease or cancer. Genes such as DEDs and TNFAIP8 are involved in programmed cell death (apoptosis) and two genes NPAL3 and RCAN, which are involved in the immune system, had a copy number variation in the studied samples. In addition RCAN is involved in Down syndrome. The PFDN gene, located on chromosome 25, is also involved in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Guanidinoacetic acid (GAA), a creatine precursor, is synthesized from L-arginine and glycine. The capacity for de novo synthesis may be limiting in high-yielding farm animals, especially in those fed all-vegetable diets. As the precursor to creatine, dietary GAA can also effectively “spare” arginine from being used for GAA synthesis, so that the arginine may be used for muscle accretion and other physiological functions. It has been reported that arginine affects bone development by its involvement in the formation of collagen and connective tissue. It also has been shown that reducing the protein level in broiler diets reduces the concentration of manganese and copper in the tibia. Therefore, low-protein diets probably decrease bone density in broilers. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of GAA supplementation to low protein diets on performance, calcium and phosphorus and the strength of the tibia of broiler chickens.

  The 240 male broilers of Ross 308 strain were assigned to 6 dietary treatments in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement with 4 replications and 10 birds in each replication. Dietary treatments included diets containing 80, 90 and 100% of the breeder recommended ideal protein each containing 0 and 0.06% of GAA. Feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured for the grower (11-24 days), finisher (25-42 days) and the overall period (11-42 days). On d 42, two birds from each experimental unit were killed, and the ash, calcium and phosphorus content and the strength of the tibia of the chickens were measured.

The results showed that by reducing the ideal protein to 80% of the breeder recommendation, body weight gain and feed intake was reduced significantly (P<0.05). Reduction of the dietary CP from 100 to 80%, resulted in inferior FCR during grower period. The inferior performance of broilers fed reduced protein diets is attributed to a limited availability of amino acids (AA). The supplementation of essential AA alone has failed to increase performance in reduced protein diets. The addition of GAA decreased feed intake of treatments (P<0.05) with reduced protein diet (80% of management guide recommendation). Body weight gain and FCR were not affected by dietary GAA supplementation. By reducing dietary protein to 80% of the recommendation, the strength of tibia decreased significantly (P<0.05). A low-protein diet may be associated with a hypocalciuretic effect, increased Ca retention and requirement for available P to avoid Ca:P imbalance, hormonal flux, and bone mobilization. Addition of GAA to the diet did not affect the parameters of bone strength. Tibia ash, Ca and P content were not significantly affected by dietary treatments.

According to the results of this experiment, reducing the dietary ideal protein to 80% of the breeder recommendation, resulted in inferior growth performance and tibia strength of broiler chickens, and dietary addition of GAA did not ameliorate those effects.

A total of 240 male Ross 308 broiler chicks were allocated in completely randomized design, including six experimental diets with 4 replicates and 10 chicks per replicate. Experimentaldiets include 1- a control diet based on corn and soybean meal, recommended according to the guide of Ross strain (308) 2- a control diet with the addition of protease enzyme with recommended levels (0/02 %) 3- low protein diet (five percent reduction) 4- Diet with low levels of protein and essential amino acids (five percent reduction) 5- Diet with low levels of protein (experimental diet three) with the addition of protease enzyme with recommended levels (0/02 %) 6- Diet with low levels of protein and essential amino acids with the addition of protease enzyme with recommended levels (0/02 %).The highest amount of feed consumption in the starter  period and the highest feed conversion ratio  in the growth period, as well as the highest percentage of abdominal fat, were related to the diet with low levels of protein and amino acids. Protease enzyme increased the body weight and decreased the feed conversion ratio during the growth period in diets with low levels of protein and amino acids (P<0.05).The use of protease enzyme in diets with low protein levels improved the digestibility of dry matter and organic matter, and the highest percentage of thigh and spleen and blood HDL concentration was related to the diet with low protein levels with the addition of protease enzyme (P<0.05). Based on the results, use of protease enzyme in diets with low levels of protein and amino acid improved the performance of broiler chickens.

Effect of different sources of probiotic and prebiotic on growth performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal microflora, and blood metabolites using 720 Ross 308 commercial male broiler chickens in a 3×3 factorial experiment with three levels of probiotic (without probiotic, probiotic type I and type 2) and three levels of prebiotic (without prebiotic, prebiotic type 1 and type II), in a completely randomized design with nine experimental groups (four replications and 20 birds were studied in each replication. Birds that were fed with diets containing type 2 probiotics had a lower conversion factor (P<0.05). Diets containing prebiotic type 1 as well as diets containing probiotic type II and diets containing probiotic type II and two prebiotics under test reduced serum cholesterol and LDL concentrations (P < 0.05). The effect of the experimental treatments on carcass fat was not significant, but the birds fed diets containing prebiotic type 1 had less abdominal fat (P<0.05). At 21 days old, the population of E. coli in the ileum and ceca of birds that received probiotics, prebiotics, and their combinations decreased (P < 0.05). At 38 days of age, feeding the birds with probiotics and prebiotics and a combination of them reduced the population of E. coli in the ceca and increased lactobacillus in the ileum (P < 0.05). The results of this experiment showed that probiotics or prebiotics assayed in this study have positive effects on the increase of beneficial intestinal bacteria (Acid lactic bacteria), blood biochemical traits, and FCR in broiler chickens.

The use of medicinal plants and their derivatives can stimulate feed consumption, increase daily weight, feed conversion ratio, increase shelf life, improve the health and function of the digestive system. It seems that the use of an optimal mixture of several medicinal plants in the diet has positive effects on performance and carcass quality of broiler chickens in comparison to each one. Nowadays, with the popularization of ready-made feed in raising broiler chickens, many breeders tend to add food additives in drinking water. Therefore, it is a question that adding these compounds in feed or drinking water makes a difference. Three commercial plant additives that are used today are Coxan, O.X. Plant, and Entex. Coxan contains oregano (with the active ingredient of menthol) and garlic (with the active ingredients of allin and allicin), O.X. Plant contains savory (with the active ingredients of carvacrol and thymol), thyme (with the active ingredients of thymol and carvacrol) and red pepper oleoresin (with the active ingredient of capsaicin), Entex contains cinnamon (with the active ingredient of cinnamaldehyde), and garlic and eucalyptus (with the active ingredient of cineol). The aim of this research was to compare the effects of using these commercial plant additives (in water and feed) on growth performance, intestinal microflora and morphology and immune response of broilers.
A total of 336 Ross 308 broilers were examined in a completely randomized design with seven treatments, four replications, and 12 chickens per replication. Experimental treatments included: control (without phytogenic in feed or water), Coxan in feed (300 mg/kg) and in water (200 mL/1000 L), O.X. Plant in feed (200 mg/kg) and in water (135 mL/1000 L) and Entex in feed (500 mg/kg) and water (350 mL/1000 L). Daily weight gain, daily feed intake, daily water intake and feed conversion ratio were measured. At 42 days of age, two birds were selected from each experimental unit and after slaughter, the length of the intestinal components was measured separately (duodenum, jejunum, and ileum). To determine the microbial population, samples were taken from the ileum of chickens. EMB culture medium was used to determine Escherichia coli population and MRS culture medium was used for Lactobacillus bacteria. To check the humoral immune response, 0.1 mL of 25% sheep red blood cell solution in PBS was injected into the breast muscle of chickens on the 12th and 29th days of rearing. Blood was taken from the chickens on the 28th, 35th and 42nd days of breeding and the levels of Anti-SRBC, and immunoglobulins G and M were calculated. Antibody titer against Newcastle disease was measured by HI method.
The effect of additives in water and feed on average daily feed consumption, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio and daily water consumption was not significant in the whole period. Since the amount of water consumed by the chickens did not change, it can be concluded that the additives added to the water in the examined amounts do not have a spicy or unpleasant taste that would cause the birds to refuse to drink water. The relative length of duodenum, jejunum, cecum and colon was not affected by experimental treatments. However, the relative length of the ileum was lower in the chickens that received Entex in the feed compared to the control group. No significant difference was observed in the relative length of different parts of the intestine in the treatments that received herbal additives either in feed or water. The relative length of duodenum, jejunum, cecum, and colon, villus length, villus area, crypt depth, thickness of lamina propria, thickness of muscular layer, and thickness of advantis layer were not affected by experimental treatments. The chickens that consumed 500 mg/kg of Entex herbal additive of feed had a lower villus width in the ileum region compared to the control group chickens. The population of Escherichia coli bacteria in the ileum of chickens that had received the addition of O.X. Plant and Entex in the feed decreased compared to the control group. The population of Escherichia coli bacteria in the Entex treatment in the feed was also reduced compared to the Coxan treatment in the feed. The population of Lactobacillus bacteria in the ileum of chickens that received Coxan in water, O.X. Plant in feed and water, and Entex in feed increased compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in the population of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus bacteria in the treatments that received herbal additives either in feed or in water. The use of plant essential oils in poultry feed, while improving the microbial population by increasing the number of lactobacilli, by improving the morphological characteristics of the intestine, probably improves the ability of digestion and absorption in the digestive system and improves the growth efficiency of broiler chickens. Antibody levels against SRBC were higher at 28, 35, and 42 days in all chickens consuming herbal additives in water. The performance of animals is significantly influenced by the state of health and safety of the animal. A weak or stressed immune system causes weight loss when dealing with infectious diseases, so the use of immune system stimulating substances can increase performance by improving the immune status. In raising poultry, it is important to strengthen the immune system to prevent the occurrence of diseases.
The results of this research showed that the commercial plant additives of Coxan, O.X. Plant, and Entex had no significant effect on growth performance, relative length and intestinal morphology. The population of opportunistic bacteria Escherichia coli was significantly reduced compared to the control group with the addition of O.X. Plant and Entex in the diet. In general, it can be concluded that adding tested herbal additives not only did not have a negative effect on the drinking water consumption of broiler chickens, but also using them in water improved the immune responses of broilers more than adding them in feed. A total of 336 Ross 308 broilers were examined in a completely randomized design with 7 treatments, 4 replications, and 12 chickens per replication. Experimental treatments included: control (without phytogenic in feed or water), Coxan in feed (300 mg/kg) and in water (200 mL/1000 L), O.X. Plant in feed (200 mg/kg) and in water (135 mL/1000 L) and Entex in feed (500 mg/kg) and water (350 mL/1000 L). Daily weight gain, daily feed intake, daily water intake and feed conversion ratio were measured. At 42 days of age, 2 birds were selected from each experimental unit and after slaughter, the length of the intestinal components was measured separately (duodenum, jejunum, ileum). In order to determine the microbial population, samples were taken from the ileum of chickens. EMB culture medium was used to determine Escherichia coli population and MRS culture medium was used for Lactobacillus bacteria. To check the humoral immune response, 0.1 ml of 25% sheep red blood cell solution in PBS was injected into the breast muscle of chickens on the 12th and 29th days of rearing. Blood was taken from the chickens on the 28th, 35th and 42nd days of breeding and the levels of Anti-SRBC, immunoglobulin G and M were calculated. Antibody titer against Newcastle disease was measured by HI method. The effect of additives in water and feed on average daily feed consumption, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio and daily water consumption was not significant in the whole period. Since the amount of water consumed by the chickens did not change, it can be concluded that the additives added to the water in the examined amounts do not have a spicy or unpleasant taste that would cause the birds to refuse to drink water. The relative length of duodenum, jejunum, cecum and colon was not affected by experimental treatments. However, the relative length of the ileum was lower in the chickens that received Entex in the feed compared to the control group. No significant difference was observed in the relative length of different parts of the intestine in the treatments that received herbal additives either in feed or water. The relative length of duodenum, jejunum, cecum, and colon, villus length, villus area, crypt depth, thickness of lamina propria, thickness of muscular layer, thickness of advantis layer were not affected by the experimental treatments. The chickens that consumed 500 mg/kg of Entex herbal additive of feed had a lower villus width in the ileum region compared to the control group chickens. The population of Escherichia coli bacteria in the ileum of chickens that had received the addition of O.X. Plant and Entex in the feed decreased compared to the control group. The population of Escherichia coli bacteria in the Entex treatment in the feed was also reduced compared to the Coxan treatment in the feed. The population of Lactobacillus bacteria in the ileum of chickens that received Coxan in water, O.X. Plant in feed and water and Entex in feed increased compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in the population of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus bacteria in the treatments that received herbal additives either in feed or in water. The use of plant essential oils in poultry feed, while improving the microbial population by increasing the number of lactobacilli, by improving the morphological characteristics of the intestine, probably improves the ability of digestion and absorption in the digestive system and improves the growth efficiency of broiler chickens. Antibody levels against SRBC were higher at 28, 35 and 42 days in all chickens consuming herbal additives in water. The performance of animals is significantly influenced by the state of health and safety of the animal. A weak or stressed immune system causes weight loss when dealing with infectious diseases, so the use of immune system stimulating substances can increase performance by improving the immune status. In raising poultry, it is important to strengthen the immune system to prevent the occurrence of diseases. The results of this research showed that the commercial plant additives Coxan, O.X. Plant and Entex had no significant effect on growth performance, relative length and intestinal morphology. The population of opportunistic bacteria Escherichia coli was significantly reduced compared to the control group with the addition of O.X. Plant and Entex in the diet. In general, it can be concluded that adding tested herbal additives not only does not have a negative effect on the drinking water consumption of broiler chickens, but using them in water improves the immune responses of broilers more than adding them in feed.

Ascites is one of the most common metabolic syndromes in today's fast-growing broilers and is associated with rapidly growing tissues and characterized by accumulation of lymph fluid in the peritoneal spaces. Effective factors in the occurrence of ascites syndrome include free radicals in the body such as superoxide, hydroxide, and hydrogen peroxide. By reducing the capacity of the body's antioxidant systems, free radicals make the bird susceptible to various diseases. Free radicals produced in the body by damaging the cell membrane lead to cell death and ultimately tissue damage. Therefore, by increasing cell protection from such injuries, one of the common causes of ascites and heart failure abnormalities can be prevented. In addition, free radicals from oxygen derivatives reduce the half-life of nitric oxide (vasodilating agent), causing a decrease in the ability of vasodilation and providing the basis for the occurrence of ascites. Therefore, it is suggested that the use of antioxidants can prevent ascites and improve performance in broilers. Medicinal plants are among the rich sources of natural antioxidants that do not have the harmful effects of antibiotics and synthetic antioxidants. For this reason, the use of medicinal plant extracts is an important step in animal nutrition to increase the immunity of poultry. The mentioned extracts have strong antioxidant, antibacterial, and digestive properties. Probably, the positive effects of medicinal plants are due to the active compounds found in plant extracts such as menthol, thymol, and carvacrol. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ethanolic extract of sage on the performance, antioxidant status, and blood parameters of broiler chickens under induced ascites.
A total of 450 one-day-old chickens (Ross 308) were reared in the form of a completely randomized design with six treatments and five replications (15 chickens in each replication). Experimental treatments include 1. Positive control group (without inducing ascites and fed with basic diet), 2. Negative control group (inducing ascites and fed with basic diet), 3 and 4. Vitamin C group (inducing ascites with levels of 1000 and 2000 ppm vitamin C), 5 and 6- Sage group (ascites induction with 1000 and 2000 ppm of sage extract). To induce ascites, water containing 1200 mg of sodium (three grams per liter of sodium salt) was provided to the chickens from the 15th day of the experiment. Growth performance parameters including feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were calculated for the total period. On the last day of the experiment (42 d), two birds were randomly selected from each cage and after sampling from the wing vein, killed and the ascites index was calculated as the ratio of the weight of the right ventricle to the total ventricles. The mortalities were collected as soon as they were observed and after weighing to correct the feed conversion ratio, were necropsied to investigate the cause of death. Blood and biochemical parameters such as the number of red and white blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, heterophil and lymphocyte, serum triglyceride, and cholesterol, as well as serum antioxidant parameters including the level of malondialdehyde and the activity of antioxidant enzymes including glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were measured. In addition, liver enzymes present in the serum including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were also measured.
The results showed that induction of ascites increased the ratio of the right ventricle to total ventricles, mortality due to ascites, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, and body weight loss (P<0.05). Administering sage extract improved the mentioned traits and vitamin C also reduced the ratio of right ventricle to total ventricles, losses due to ascites (P<0.05). Sage extract and vitamin C moderated the increasing effects of ascites induction on heterophiles, triglyceride, and cholesterol and increased red blood cells, hematocrit, and hemoglobin compared to the negative control treatment (P<0.05). In addition, the induction of ascites decreased the activity of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase enzymes and increased serum malondialdehyde, experimental treatments, especially sage extract, improved the antioxidant status compared to the negative control treatment (P<0.05). Also, the induction of ascites increased the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gammaglutaryl transferase, and alkaline phosphatase enzymes. The addition of experimental supplements, especially sage, decreased the serum level of the mentioned enzymes (P<0.05).
The results of this research showed that the use of sage extract compared to vitamin C has better results on performance, increasing antioxidant power, and reducing stress of broilers with ascites.

Lipids (fat and oil) are the most concentrated sources of energy for animals, which are usually added to poultry diets to meet energy requirements for better performance (Abudabos 2014). However, there are problems with dietary lipid levels and digestibility in poultry, especially in young birds due to low bile secretion (Ravindran et al 2016). This physiological limitation of the poultry digestive system can be solved by using exogenous emulsifiers. Emulsifier can help increase the active level of lipids, stimulate the formation of micelles, and then increase the digestibility of dietary lipids and other nutrients in broilers (Siyal et al 2017). Upadhaya et al (2017) showed that 1, 3-diacylglycerol as an exogenous emulsifier can improve growth performance and increase nutrient digestibility in broilers. In addition, a large number of studies have also shown that exogenous emulsifier can improve meat quality and regulate fat metabolism of broilers (Zhao and Kim 2017). Bile acids are the main pathway of cholesterol catabolism in mammals. Cholesterol is converted into bile acids by changes in ring structure, oxidation and side chain shortening (Li and Chiang 2019). The chemistry of bile acids is complex due to the large variety of chemical structures in natural compounds such as cholic acid, kenodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid, and lithocholic acid. Bile acids of birds are mainly composed of kenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid (Hoffman and Hagee 2018). Recently, bile acids have been considered as an emulsifier to increase digestibility (Upadhaya et al 2019) and improve the performance of broiler chickens (Parsai et al 2007). Supplementation of bile acids in the diet of broilers significantly improves fat digestibility (Lammasak et al 2019). The effect of bile salts on performance, carcass characteristics and blood parameters of broiler chickens were investaigeted.

Three hundered one-day-old broilers (Ross 308) were divided into 5 treatments and 6 replications with 10 birds in each replication. Five experimental treatments included the control diet (corn soybean based diet), emulsifier (added to control diet) and three levels of 0.05%, 0.1% and 0.2% of poultry bile salts (added to control diet). All the dietary treatment were fed to the birds from day one to day 42 of age. The experiment lasted for 42 days and were performed during the starter (1-10 days), grower (11-24 days) and finisher (25-42 days). Performnce indices were measured during the difeferned periods and carcass characteristics and blood parameters were determined on day 42 of age. The data obtained from the present study were statistically analyzed using SAS statistical software and GLM procedure. To compare the means, Tukey's test was used.

The results showed that consumption of different levels of bile salts had no significant effect on feed consumption (P<0.05). However, consumption of 0.1% bile salts improved body weight gain and feed conversion ratio during the starter period (P<0.05). Previous studies have shown that the consumption of 0.05% commercial emulsifier can improve the growth performance of broiler chickens (Wang et al 2016). In addition, in the present study, 0.05% poultry bile acids supplement significantly improved daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio during 1 to 10 days, which is consistent with the results of Alzawqari et al (2011) regarding bile. These researchers observed improvement in daily weight gain with 0.05% bovine bile acid supplementation. Arshad et al (2020) reported that feed intake was not affected by bile acid supplementation in the initial, growth, finisher and overall periods. In the newly hatched chick, the ability to digest and absorb dietary fat is poor as a result of limited bile secretion (Tancharonrat et al 2013). For this reason, artificial bile acid and bile salts have shown the greatest effect in young broiler chickens to improve fat digestion, and the improvement in the performance of birds receiving bile in the initial period of recent research was for this reason. The results of Maisonnier et al (2016) showed that 0.5% of pig bile acids can increase fat digestibility and body weight in broilers. These results may imply that the supplementation of bile acids in diets improved the growth performance of broiler chickens by increasing the solubility and digestibility of dietary fat and fat-soluble nutrients in this study. Abdominal fat decreased significantly by consumption of 0.1% bile salts (P<0.05). Subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat are considered as the main factors influencing the performance of poultry carcasses (Tůmová and Teimouri 2010). In agreement with our results, many researchers have pointed out the positive effects of emulsifier on reducing fat status and improving carcass quality in broiler chickens (Zhao and Kim 2017). Blood triglyceride concentration was decreased in 0.05% bile salts fed birds wherease cholesterol and uric acid concentrations decreased in the birds fed emulsifier (P<0.05). Triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL and LDL blood are key indicators of lipid metabolism balance (Helkin et al 2017). In agreement with our results, researchers reported that bile acids increased hepatic AST and ALT activity in broilers and reduced serum triglyceride levels, which could be due to the participation of these enzymes in the lipogenesis process (Ge et al 2019). In addition, Siyal et al (2017) showed that feed emulsifier can reduce serum triglyceride concentration in broilers. It can also be stated that bile acids may enhance fat catabolism and inhibit fat synthesis by regulating the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism which may play a pivotal role in improving serum lipid profile and reducing fat deposition in broiler chickens (Ge et al 2019).

Totally, it was found that dietary bile salts supplementation improves the performance of, carcass characteristics and blood lipids in broiler chcikens.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of molasses kombucha on performance, intestinal morphology and intestinal microbial population on 320 Ross male broiler chickens in a completely randomized design in 5 treatments and 4 replicate with 16 chickens in each replicate, in the starter (1-10 days old), growth (11-24), the final (25-42) and whole period (1-42). Experimental treatments include drinking water containing: 1) tap water with no kombucha, 2) 0.015 and 0.003 kombucha, respectively, during the starter and growth period, 3) 0.015, 0.003 kombucha and 0.003 three days a week, respectively during the starter, growth and finisher period 4) 0.015 Kombucha during starter and 0.003 kombucha three days a week during growth and finisher period 5) 0.015 Kombucha during starter and growth period and 0.003 kombucha three days a week during finisher. All experimental treatments had a higher body weight gain than the control group (P < 0.05). During the starter and whole periods, except for treatment 2, addition of molasses kombucha significantly improved the feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). There was a significant increase in the villus surface area of the treatments compared to the control group (P<0.05). Molasses kombucha caused a significant increase in the Lactobacillus population and decreased the total coliforms in the cecum environment (P<0.05). In conclusion, 0.015 Kombucha during starter and growth period and 0.003 kombucha three days a week during finisher can improve the performance of broiler chickens.

Silver nanoparticles are one of the new achievements in nanotechnology, which are used in medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals due to their antimicrobial activity. Silver nanoparticles can react with biological macromolecules and induce apoptosis by disrupting intracellular homeostasis. Hence, the aim of this study was to the effect of zeolite, organic acid and silver nanoparticles coated on zeolite on the expression of BAX and Bcl2 apoptosis genes in broiler chickens.

The number of 450 one-day- old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were used in five treatments and six repetitions with 15 chicks per replicate in the form of a completely random design. Experimental diets were: control or basal diet (1), a basal diet supplemented by 1% zeolite (2), a basal diet supplemented by 1% zeolite coated with 0.5% nanosilver (3), a basal diet supplemented by 0.15% organic acid (4) and a basal diet supplemented by 1% zeolite coated with 0.5% nanosilver and 0.15% organic (5). The experiment was conducted with broiler chicken from 1 to 42 days old. The expression of the BCL2 and BAX apoptosis genes, liver sampling was done on the 21st and 42nd days of the breeding period.

The results of this experiment showed that in broiler chicks receiving zeolite treatment (Z) on d 21 and silver nanoparticles coated on zeolite treatment (NS) on d 42 of the breeding period the expression level of Bcl2 gene in liver tissue was significantly increased (P<0.05) compared to the control treatment (C Also, the expression of the BAX gene in the liver tissue in NS and NSOA treatments on d 42 of the breeding period increased significantly compared to the control treatment (P<0.05).

In conclusion, the results of this experiment showed that zeolite and NS and NSOA treatments have an increasing effect on the expression of Bcl2 and BAX genes, while this effect was not observed in organic acid treatment.