Effects of Trichoderma fermented wheat bran on growth performance, intestinal morphology and histological findings in broiler chickens

oleh: Yi Ting Chu, Chaur Tsuen Lo, Shen Chang Chang, Tzu Tai Lee

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Taylor & Francis Group 2017-01-01

Deskripsi

This experiment investigated the effects of wheat bran fermented with Trichoderma pseudokoningii (FWB) on growth performance, intestinal morphology and the incidence of non-specific pathological lesions in broilers. In vitro experimental results showed that cellulase and xylananse activity of fermented wheat bran reached its peak at day 4 and solid-state fermentation (SSF) enhanced the reducing sugar content. In addition, the possibility of Trichoderma adhering to the broiler’s crop epitheliums was also discovered. A total of 180 day-old Ross 308 male broilers were randomly distributed into one of the three dietary groups until 35 d of age: basal diet (control), 10% of basal diet replaced with wheat bran (10% WB) or 10% of diet replaced with fermented wheat bran (10% FWB). Results showed that 10% FWB group had lower feed consumption than the others, but improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) for starter phase (1 to 21 d) when compared to the control group. Furthermore, 10% FWB group had significantly increased villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio in the ileum compared to the control group. Coliform bacteria count in the ileum was lower in the 10% WB group than the control, however, there were no differences between the 10% WB and 10% FWB treatment groups in the C. perfringens count. There were no morphological changes or incidences of non-specific pathological lesions in the 10% FWB group. These results suggested that replacing 10% of a basal diet with fermented wheat bran could not only improve growth performance but also provide optimal intestinal morphology in broilers.