Efficacy of Mannan-Oligosaccharides as Alternatives to Commonly Used Antibiotic Growth Promoters in Broilers

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in broiler diets. Two hundred day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were randomly placed in twenty floor pens of ten chicks each. Dietary treatments consisted of a corn-based basal diet having 21% CP with 2750 kcal/kg ME in starter (1 to 7 d), 20% CP with 2775 kcal/ kg ME in grower (8 to 21 d), and 19% CP with 2800 kcal/kg ME in finisher (22 to 35 d) period (Control group); and the same diet supplemented with 0.1% MOS (MOS), 0.05% zinc bacitracin (ZB), 0.001% furazolidone (FUR) and 0.001% enramycin (ENR). Each experimental diet was assigned randomly to four replicate-pens. The growth performance was not different among treatments during any growth period except in grower period where weight gain and feed conversion ratio were improved (P<0.05) with AGP as compared to control. No difference was observed in carcass characteristics including carcass yield, breast meat yield, abdominal fat, liver and heart weight of broilers fed different diets. Similarly, cecal and ileal bacterial populations (total bacterial count, total coliform count, Clostridium perfringens, Lactobacillus, E.coli, Salmonella) and serum concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol, Alanine aminotransferase and Aspartate aminotransferase were not affected due to MOS or AGP supplementation. Economic evaluation showed that use of MOS in feed was not cost effective as compared to other groups. In conclusion, although, there was no difference among groups fed MOS and various AGP; their supplementation did not improve the performance, lipid profile or intestinal bacterial ecology of broilers. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.