Ácidos orgânicos e suas associações com prebiótico ou extrato vegetal na alimentação de poedeiras comerciais leves

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding combinations of organic acids, or organic acids combined with a prebiotic or plant extract, to the diet of commercial laying hens between 40 and 70 weeks of age. A total of 384 NOVOgen White laying hens were distributed in a completely randomized design with eight treatments and six replicates of eight birds per experimental unit. The treatments were as follows: T1 (negative control) – diet without growth promoter; T2 (positive control) – diet with growth promoter (0.05 g/kg of Halquinol); T3 – 1.81 g/kg of formic acid + 0.44 g/kg of propionic acid; T4 – 3.62 g/kg of formic acid + 0.88 g/kg of propionic acid; T5 – 1.10 g/kg of formic acid + 0.66 g/kg of propionic acid + 0.86 g/kg of butyric acid + 0.72 g/kg of prebiotic; T6 – 1.65 g/kg of formic acid + 1.0 g/kg of propionic acid + 1.30 g/kg of butyric acid + 1.08 g/kg of prebiotic; T7 – 1.58 g/kg of formic acid + 0.30 g/kg of propionic acid + 0.10 g/kg of plant extract; and T8 – 3.16 g/kg of formic acid + 0.60 g/kg of propionic acid + 0.20 g/kg of plant extract. The prebiotic used was inulin-based, and the plant extract consisted of oregano essential oil. The variables evaluated included productive performance, external and internal egg quality, lipid stability of fresh and stored egg yolks (TBARS), antioxidant potential of fresh and stored eggs (phenolic compounds, DPPH, and ABTS), lipid stability of the liver and reproductive organs (TBARS), and bone quality. A significant effect of treatments was observed only for yolk color, with increased yolk color intensity in hens receiving the mixture of organic acids associated with plant extract at the 0.10 % inclusion level. It can be concluded that the addition of organic acids and their associations with prebiotic or plant extract at the evaluated levels did not influence productive performance, external and internal egg quality, yolk lipid stability, egg antioxidant potential, lipid stability of the liver and reproductive organs, or bone quality of laying hens.