ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2024 67 47 48 49 50 51 CONTROL PHYT ADG (g/d) PTRT<0,01 +4.5 % 1,61 1,62 1,63 1,64 1,65 1,66 1,67 1,68 1,69 1,70 1,71 CONTROL PHYT FCR (g/g) - 3.9 % PTRT<0,01 3200 3250 3300 3350 CONTROL PHYT AMEn (kcal/kg) PTRT<0,01 +2.4 % of the gastric pH, which will inactivate pepsinogen to active pepsin for effective protein hydrolysis. This is especially essential in young animals during the post-weaning period and transition diets when there is a limited digestive and absorptive capacity due to insufficient production of hydrochloric acid. THE BEST PERFORMANCE INSPIRED BY NATURE For decades, antibiotic growth promoters have been a cost-effective ally in the animal industry to improve zootechnical performance and feed efficiency. Given the increase in antimicrobial resistance and the ban on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters, it is essential to consider alternative solutions. To meet this demand, many additives on the market have been evaluated and among them, plant extracts have shown to be one of the most beneficial. The proposed mode of action of phytogenic compounds is attributed to the stimulation of enzymatic secretions and activity, nutrient utilization and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, mitigation of gut inflammatory response, improvement of animals’ antioxidative status, reducing damage to intestinal cells and maintaining the integrity of the intestinal mucosal layer (Awaad et al., 2014; Bravo et al., 2014; Karadas et al., 2014; Pirgozliev et al., 2019). An extensive number of studies in broilers demonstrated that the combination of carvacrol (present in oregano), cinnamaldehyde (present in cinnamon) and capsicum oleoresin (present in red chili pepper) has the potential to achieve similar levels of growth performance as AGPs and showed positive results in broiler carcass and meat quality (Bravo et al. 2009; Heng et al. 2017; Oguey., 2017). Additional studies also showed this combination improved the nutritional value of low-metabolizable energy diets when fed to broilers. This beneficial effect seems to be mediated by decreasing the energy required for the maintenance of gastrointestinal tract, diverting more energy towards animal growth rather than maintenance (Bravo et al., 2011). In addition, all existing results were gathered in a meta-analysis (Oguey et al., 2015) showing consistency in the product’s effects by increasing body weight gain (BWG: + 4.5 %), improving feed efficiency (FCR: - 3.9 %), and increasing the amount of metabolizable energy available (AMEn: +50 kcal/kg) when supplemented to broilers at 100 g/ton (Figure 1.). Figure 1. Meta-analysis of the effects of a standardized blend of cinnamaldehyde, capsicum oleoresin and carvacrol (PHYT) on the zootechnical performance and metabolized energy in broilers.
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