Abstract: |
The study aimed to explore how broiler chickens’ blood biochemistry, breast muscles’
fatty acid profile, growth, intestinal morphology, and immune status would be influenced by adding
microbial muramidase (MUR) to the diet. Four hundred 3-day-old male broiler chickens were
allocated to a completely randomized design consisting of four nutritional treatments (n = 100 per
treatment, 10 chicks/replicate), each containing MUR at levels of 0 (control group), 200, 400, and 600
mg Kg−1 diet, with enzyme activity 0, 12,000, 24,000, and 36,000 LSU(F)/kg diet, respectively. The
35-day experiment was completed. The findings showed that adding MUR to broiler meals in
amounts of 200, 400, or 600 mg/kg had no impact on growth performance (p > 0.05) during the
periods of 4–10, 11–23, and 24–35 days of age. MUR supplementation quadratically impacted the
feed conversion ratio of broiler chicks at 11 and 23 days of age (p = 0.02). MUR addition to the diet
significantly and level-dependently enhanced the percentage of n−3 and n−6 polyunsaturated fatty
acids (PUFA) in breast muscles (p ≤ 0.01), with no alterations to the sensory characteristics of the
breast muscles. Dietary MUR increased most of the morphometric dimensions of the small intestine,
with the best results recorded at the 200 and 400 mg Kg−1 levels. MUR supplementation at 200, 400,
and 600 mg kg−1 linearly lowered the total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol level (p < 0.01). Still, it significantly increased the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol contents compared with the unsupplemented group.
Compared to controls, there was a substantial rise in the blood concentration of total protein, albumin,
globulin, IL10, complement 3, and lysozyme activity as MUR levels increased (p < 0.01).
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