Effects of a microbial muramidase on the growth performance, intestinal permeability, nutrient digestibility, and welfare of broiler chickens

The objective of these studies was to evaluate the inclusion of a microbial muramidase (MUR) in the diets of broiler chickens on the growth performance, intestinal permeability (IP), total blood carotenoid content, apparent ileal digestibility (AID), and foot pad dermatitis (FPD). In Experiment 1, a total of 1,000 one-day-old chicks were placed in floor-pens with reused litter, and randomly distributed into 4 treatments with 10 replicates each. Treatments were a basal diet (control), or basal diet supplemented with 15,000; 25,000 or 35,000 LSU (F)/kg of MUR. Feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were evaluated at d 21 and 43. Intestinal permeability was evaluated on d 35 by FITC-d, and FPD and AID on d 43. In Experiment 2, a total of 800 one-day-old chicks were placed in floor-pens with fresh litter, and randomly distributed into 4 treatments with 8 replicates each. Treatments were a basal diet (control), or basal diet supplemented with 25,000 or 35,000 LSU (F)/kg of MUR, and a fourth group where the basal diet was supplemented with enramycin. The birds were induced to a mild intestinal challenge. Feed intake, BWG, and FCR were evaluated on d 21 and d 42, and total blood concentration of carotenoids was evaluated on d 28. In experiment 1, 35,000 LSU (F)/kg of MUR promoted the best FCR (P < 0.05). Muramidase supplementation linearly increased the AID of dry matter, ash, and fat (P < 0.01), and regardless of the dose, MUR decreased the IP (P < 0.05). In Experiment 2, the supplementation of 35,000 LSU (F)/kg of MUR improved BWG and FCR in the entire cycle (1–42 d) and increased the concentration of carotenoids in the blood on d 28 compared to the control group (P < 0.05). These studies show that MUR improves growth performance of broilers by improving intestinal permeability, digestibility of dry matter, ash and fat, absorption of carotenoids, and reducing FPD.