Vet World Vol.18 January-2025 Article - 6
Research Article
Veterinary World, 18(1): 52-59
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.52-59
Effect of extracted phycocyanin by-products as a synbiotic supplement on the production performance and intestinal morphology of broilers
2. Faculty of Fisheries and Food Science, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.
3. Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
Background and Aim: The extracted phycocyanin by-products retain nutritional value, including proteins, polysaccharides, and bioactive compounds, which have the potential as feed supplements in broiler production. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of by-products acquired during phycocyanin extraction, which is used as a novel synbiotic supplement, on the production performance and intestinal health of broilers in a tropical climate.
Materials and Methods: A total of 240 one-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were randomly distributed among five dietary treatment groups; they received a diet supplemented with a synbiotic product (probiotic [Lactobacillus johnsonii] at least 1.0 × 108 colony-forming unit/mg with prebiotic [by-product of phycocyanin extraction]) at 0.000%, 0.025%, 0.050%, 0.075%, and 0.100%. We investigated the effects of dietary synbiotic supplements on the growth performance, meat quality, intestinal morphology, and cecal bacterial population of broiler chickens aged 35 days.
Results: Synbiotics used as a dietary supplement did not affect the growth performance of broilers during any experimental period (p > 0.05); however, it significantly increased the redness of meat and decreased the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances on days 3 and 7 of storage (p < 0.05). Moreover, synbiotics significantly improved the height and surface area of villi in the duodenum and jejunum (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The study demonstrated that dietary supplementation with 0.1% synbiotics, incorporating a by-product of phycocyanin extraction, did not significantly influence the growth performance of broiler chickens. However, it positively affected meat quality by increasing redness and reducing lipid oxidation during storage. Additionally, synbiotic supplementation significantly enhanced intestinal health by improving the villi height and surface area in the duodenum and jejunum, highlighting its potential benefits for broiler intestinal morphology and meat quality in tropical climates. Further research is recommended to explore the mechanisms underlying these effects and their implications for long-term poultry health and productivity.
Keywords: broiler, by-products, production, Spirulina platensis, symbiotic
How to cite this article: Hamprakorn K, Maneewan B, Jantasin W, Lani MN, Moonmanee T, and Panatuk J (2025) Effect of extracted phycocyanin by-products as a synbiotic supplement on the production performance and intestinal morphology of broilers, Veterinary World, 18(1): 52-59.
Received: 2024-07-22 Accepted: 0024-12-09 Published online: 2025-01-09
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.52-59
Copyright: Hamprakorn, 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.
