Effects of dietary synbiotic supplementation on growth performance, lipid metabolism, antioxidant status, and meat quality in Partridge shank chickens

This experiment aimed to evaluate the effects of incorporating a synbiotic into diet on growth performance, lipid metabolism, antioxidant status, and meat quality in Partridge shank chickens. A total of 128 1-day-old male Partridge shank chicks were randomly divided into 2 groups, and each group consisted of 8 replicates with 8 birds each. Birds in the 2 treatments were fed a basal diet supplemented with or without 1.5 g of a synbiotic per kg of feed consisting of prebiotics (xylooligosaccharide and yeast cell wall) and probiotics (Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis, and Clostridium butyricum) for 50 days. Compared with control group, supplementation with synbiotic significantly decreased feed to gain ratio during days 1-21, absolute and relative abdominal fat weight, and hepatic malondialdehyde concentration as well as plasma triglyceride concentration at 50 days of age. In addition, dietary supplemented with synbiotic had lower 24-h postmortem drip loss, cooking loss of breast muscle, whereas higher plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol level, 24-h postmortem redness, and pH of breast muscle. Dietary synbiotic supplement could promote growth performance, regulate lipid metabolism, and improve antioxidant capacity and meat quality in Partridge shank chickens.