Investigating the Effect of Algal Inclusions in Broiler Chickens

There is growing interest in adding marine algae to poultry feed rations. The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of various inclusions of <i>Sargassum</i> sp., <i>Gracilaria</i> sp., and <i>Spirulina</i> sp. on productive performance, serum proteins, liver proteins, meat quality, and antioxidant activity in broiler chickens. There were seven dietary treatments (TRTs) as follows: TRT 1 was the control group without algae; TRT 2 was enriched with <i>Sargassum</i> sp. at 1% of the diet; TRT 3 with <i>Sargassum</i> sp. at 2% of the diet; TRT 4 with <i>Gracilaria</i> sp. at 0.5% of the diet; TRT 5 with <i>Gracilaria</i> sp. at 1% of the diet; TRT 6 with <i>Spirulina</i> sp. at 5% of the diet; TRT 7 with <i>Spirulina</i> sp. at 7.5% of the diet. Each treatment was replicated ten times, with 17 birds per replicate, and the analyses were performed in triplicates. Results of the feed rations proximate analyses revealed that the formulated diets contained the required amounts of protein, fat, fiber, ash, and moisture, to be fed to the broiler chickens. There was no effect of marine algae on the production performance parameters of the birds. All the enriched birds performed normally as the control group. It was shown that enriching the broiler diet with 1% <i>Sargassum</i> sp. Induced an increase in the total serum proteins, while <i>Gracilaria</i> sp. algal inclusion reduced the total serum proteins, compared to the control group. At five weeks of age, enriching broiler diets with 5% <i>Spirulina</i> sp. resulted in a higher concentration of total serum protein-C than the control group and the group enriched with 7.5% inclusion. Enriching the diet of 3- wks old broilers with <i>Sargassum</i> sp. at 2% elevated the proportions of serum LFABP. The maximum proportion of omega 6 fatty acid (∑n-6) was observed in the group of birds that received the control diet, while the proportion of omega 3 fatty acid (∑n-3) was highest in the algae-enriched groups. The results showed that all algal inclusions lowered the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (∑n-6:∑n-3). Enriching broiler chickens with <i>Spirulina</i> at 5% and 7.5% increased the HDL concentration, compared to the control group. The palatability of meat for color, texture, flavor, appearance, smell, and overall acceptability was not negatively affected by algal inclusions. All algal inclusions enhanced the anti-oxidative status of broilers and lipid oxidative stability of the stored feed rations. In general, it can be concluded that marine algal inclusions showed no effect on the productive performance of the broiler chickens and can be used without any detrimental effects in poultry feed rations.