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Supportive plant compounds In a joint Australian trial between RMIT University in Mel- bourne and Scolexia, an avian health consultancy, 99 Hy-Line 21-week-old laying hens were included in the study. Prior to the start of the trial, the birds were shown to be free from C. hepaticus. Three treatments were compared: a negative control (NC: no additives, no challenge with C. hepaticus), a positive control (PC: no feed additive, challenged with C. he- paticus), and a standardized blend of IQs (IQs), infected with C. hepaticus. After all three diets were fed for 28 days (week 25), each bird in the challenged groups (PC and IQs) were orally exposed to C. hepaticus using 1 mL of Brucella broth, containing 1×109 colony-forming units/mL, while the NC group received the same dose of sterile Brucella broth. To determine the short and long-term effects, selected birds from each treatment were euthanized 6 days after exposure (short). The remaining birds were kept for 29 days after exposure (long). While the short groups were used to evaluate pathological changes in the liver, blood cytokine levels and caecal microbial composi- tion, the long groups were used to assess production parameters.


Managing inflammation Blood levels of IL-8, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, were signif- icantly increased in C. hepaticus-infected hens in the PC group compared to birds in the non-infected NC group. This indi- cates that SLD induces inflammation. A significant reduction in IL-8 was observed in the IQs treatment group compared to the PC group (Figure 1), indicating that inflammation relief from the SLD challenge had been conferred by the IQs group. As a possible consequence, the average number of liver lesions in birds fed the IQs was significantly lower compared


to the PC birds (42 and 201 on average, respectively). Additionally, changes were seen in the caecal microbiota of birds in the IQs group compared to birds in the PC group. The observed higher Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in birds fed IQs may have contributed to a significant increase in egg mass observed during the first 6 days after exposure. By con- trast, the egg mass of birds in the PC group significantly de- creased after exposure to C. hepaticus (Figure 2). This new re- search work highlights the potential of proven plant-based feed additives to mitigate the negative impact of SLD in lay- ing hens and therefore contribute to modern and animal- friendly egg production.


References available on request.


Figure 2 - Influence of IQs on the egg mass of laying hens up to 14 days after exposure to Campylobacter hepaticus.


58 60 62


52 54 56


50 3 6 14


Days after exposure NC


* p < 0.05 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 8, 2021 35 3 6 14


Days after exposure PC


3 6 14


Days after exposure IQs


55.6 54.4 * * 59.7 58.0 57.1 56.6 * 56.7 57.1 * 59.7


Spotty Liver Dis- ease mainly oc- curs in exten- sively free-range flocks but can also occasionally be seen in barn and even cage systems, as well as in breeder stocks.


Egg mass (g)


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