In-field poultry tests to evaluate efficacy of bioformulation consisting of enzymes and yeast biomass

A novel bioformulation comprising of spray-dried enzymes and Saccharomyces cerevisiae biomass was evaluated in the field for its efficacy to improve broiler performance. A total of 360, one-day-old Cobb 500 male chicken were assigned randomly to four dietary treatments with 15 birds in each of six replicates the dietary treatments were basal diet (T1), basal diet + bioformulation (T2), basal diet + bacitracin (T3) and basal diet + bioformulation + bacitracin (T4). At the end of 35 days, body weight gain was found to be significantly higher for the bioformulation as compared to the other three groups. There was no significant difference in feed conversion ratio and mortality amongst the four groups. For the histological study, T2 was found to have the highest villus height/crypt depth ratio. Bioformulation supplementation decreased serum cholesterol and maintained normal liver and kidney function. The bioformulation was also found to promote the growth of beneficial fermentative bacteria (Butyricoccus, Lactobacillus, and Streptococcus) in the poultry ceca. Hence, bioformulation inclusion was shown to have a significant effect on broiler weight gain, serum biochemistry, and composition of the cecal microflora, and has the potential be developed as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters.