Effect of canola meal peptides, antibiotic, probiotic and prebiotic on intestinal morphology and gut bacterial population in broiler chicks

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of canola meal peptides (CP) produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of canola meal, antibiotic (Virginiamycin®), probiotic (Dipro®) and prebiotic (Agrimos®) on intestinal morphology and gut microflora of broiler chicks. A total of 200 one-day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 5 dietary treatments with 4 replicates of 10 birds per each. Broiler chicks were fed with basal diets (Control), 250 mg CBP/kg, 200 mg antibiotic/kg, 1 g prebiotic/kg and 400 mg probiotic/kg for a 42 d feeding trial. Results indicated that villus height, the ratio of villus height to crypt depth of duodenum, jejunum and ileumin in chicks fed by CP and probiotic increased and crypt depth significantly decreased (P