The effect of Aspergillus niger as a dietary supplement on blood parameters, intestinal morphology, and gut microflora in Haidong chicks reared in a high altitude environment

Vet World Vol.13 October-2020 Article-24

Research Article

Veterinary World, 13(10): 2209-2215

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2020.2209-2215

Hao Lin¹, Baoan Ding¹, Lingyun Chen¹, Zhenming Zhang¹, Hailian He¹, Jingge Wang¹, Xiezhong Wang², Licheng Zhang², Xiaoming Ni¹, and Baldassare Fronte³

1. State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China.
2. Qinghai Animal Disease Control Center, Xining 810001, China.
3. Department of Science Veterinary, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124, Pisa, Italy.

Background and Aim: The effects of the inclusion of Aspergillus niger in the diet of Haidong chicks reared in the Qing-Zang high altitude area (China) under hypoxic conditions.

Materials and Methods: A total of 720 Haidong chicks were randomly divided into six groups and fed diets supplemented with 0%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1.0%, 1.25%, and 1.5% of A. niger to determine blood parameters, intestinal morphology, and gut microflora in Haidong chicks reared in a high altitude environment.

Results: Packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell count, and hemoglobin concentration increased in the groups fed diets containing A. niger. The administration of A. niger in 1.0% and 1.25% significantly decreased the concentration of Escherichia coli in the cecum, while the concentration of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the cecum and ileum was increased in the treated groups. When compared to the control groups, villi height, crypt depth, and goblet cell density in the intestine was raised, in general, in the groups treated with A. niger.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that 1.25% A. niger as dietary supplement may improve the resistance to ascites among birds reared under hypoxic conditions. Keywords: Aspergillus niger, gut microflora, Haidong chicks, intestinal morphology, probiotic.

Keywords: Aspergillus niger, gut microflora, Haidong chicks, intestinal morphology, probiotic.

How to cite this article: Lin H, Ding B, Chen L, Zhang Z, He H, Wang J, Wang X, Zhang L, Ni X, Fronte B (2020) The effect of Aspergillus niger as a dietary supplement on blood parameters, intestinal morphology, and gut microflora in Haidong chicks reared in a high altitude environment, Veterinary World, 13(10): 2209-2215.

Received: 24-07-2020 Accepted: 18-09-2020 Published online: 23-10-2020

Corresponding author: Baoan Ding E-mail: dingbaoan1967@aliyun.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.2209-2215

Copyright: Lin, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.