Table 2 – Effect of broccoli residues fermented with probiotics on the growth performance and mortality.


Items


Feed intake (g/bird) ADG (g/bird)


Positive Negative control 110.79 53.19


FCR 2.093 Mortality (%)


5.83


control 105.49 49.12 2.145 11.67


Fermented broccoli (%) 2.5%


5%


112.83 54.69 2.063 9.17


112.94 56.26 2.007 7.50


7.5%


113.68 55.52 2.048 7.50


Due to consumer demand for visually ‘perfect’ vegetables, the processing of broccoli results in losses of around 45 to 50%.


content compared to most grains. This protein is found in the florets, ranging from approximately 20% to 40% and the fibre content in the stalks is high. The most abundant amino acids are tyrosine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, proline and valine.


Antimicrobial effects Studies show that the populations of Campylobacter, E. coli, and Gram– (gram negative bacteria) in the caecal digesta and on the neck skin of broilers were decreased by ferment- ed broccoli at 5% or 10% inclusion rates (see Table 1). The re- duction in Salmonella and C. perfringens in caecal digesta was more pronounced at 10%. It was suggested that the significant reduction in potentially harmful bacterial loads may be caused by the organic acids, probiotics, flavonoids, and vitamins in fermented broccoli. This is also observed in broilers where supplementation of organic acids or probiot- ics leads to a reduction of intestinal Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter (Bourassa et al., 2018, Emami et al., 2017 & Guyard- Nicodeme et al., 2017).


Antioxidant effects Broccoli stem and leaf meal included at 4%, 8% and 12% showed improved meat quality through more skin pigmenta- tion and a reduced drip loss percentage of breast meat – drip loss decreased with an increase in the inclusion rate. The more skin pigmentation was mainly related to the high amounts of xanthophylls in broccoli, while the decreased meat drip loss is attributed to the antioxidative function of broccoli. Broccoli stem and leaf meal improved total antioxi- dant capability by lowering malondialdehyde concentration


and increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase and cat- alase of breast muscle. Similarly, fermented broccoli added at 5% or 10% increased the activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and the total antioxidant ca- pacity, in the pectoralis major muscles. In the gastrocnemius muscle, both levels of fermented broccoli increased the activ- ities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and to- tal antioxidant capacity, but did not affect catalase. However, in both muscle types, including 10% led to greater effects on superoxide dismutase activity. The higher activities of antioxi- dative parameters in fermented broccoli treatments may be attributed to probiotics, organic acids, and the presence of other bioactive components.


Growth performance and digestibility Mustafa and Baurhoo (2016) reported that dried broccoli flo- ret residues incorporated at 3% and 6% improves the growth and FCR of broilers, but at high levels (i.e., 9%), ileal and total tract nutrient digestibility might be compromised. The results of Liu et al. (2018) showed an improvement in the growth per- formance of birds challenged with C. perfringens and fed broccoli residues fermented with probiotics (see Table 2). Bio- conversion of dried broccoli floret residues in broiler diets may help to reduce feed costs and alleviate the environmental con- cerns related to the disposal of huge quantities of vegetable residues. Proper inclusion levels must be established to avoid possible suppression of nutrient digestibility, which might oc- cur at high levels. Due to its antibacterial, antioxidant and pro- biotic properties, dietary fermented broccoli might well be a potential alternative to the use of antibiotics in animal feed.


▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 1, 2020 21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28