Effects of Mannanoligosaccharide Supplementation on the Growth Performance, Immunity, and Oxidative Status of Partridge Shank Chickens

SIMPLE SUMMARY: To keep animals healthy and maintain sustainability, modern poultry production industry uses functional feed additives such as mannanoligosaccharides to minimize the potential threat of disease and protect the intestinal mucosa against invading microorganisms. However, most of them are obtained by chemical synthesis that may cause environmental pollution. Thus, we found a way to produce mannanooligosaccharides by an enzyme called β-mannanase to avoid pollution. This enzyme is produced by the fungus species Aspergillus niger. In the present study, we evaluated such enzymatic mannanooligosaccharide and found it can improve oxidative status and immunity in broiler chickens. ABSTRACT: Mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) can be used in poultry production to modulate immunity and improve growth performance. So, we hypothesized that our enzymatic MOS could achieve the same effects in broilers. To investigate this, a total of 192 one-day-old Partridge Shank chickens were allocated to four dietary treatments consisting of six replicates with eight chicks per replicate, and they were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 g MOS per kg of diet(g/kg) for42 days. Treatments did not affect the growth performance of chickens. Dietary MOS linearly increased the relative weight of the bursa of Fabricius and jejunal immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) content, whereas it linearly decreased cecal Salmonella colonies at 21 days (p < 0.05). The concentration of jejunal secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and IgG at 42 days as well as ileal sIgA, IgG, and IgM at 21 and 42 days were quadratically enhanced by MOS supplementation (p < 0.05). Also, chickens fed MOS exhibited linear and quadratic reduction in jejunal malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation (p < 0.05). In conclusion, this enzymatic MOS can improve the immune function and intestinal oxidative status of Partridge Shank chickens.