Supplemental Effects of Fermented Rice Bran Extracts on Growth Performance, Bone Characteristics, and Immune Response of Broiler Chickens

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the supplemental effects of fermented rice bran extract (FBE, Maxcell Co., LA, CA) on growth performance, bone characteristics, and immune response in broiler chickens. FBE was produced from a fermentation process using rice bran and sucrose sources as medium inoculated by a mixture of probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) producing metabolites. A total of 270 1-d-old male broiler chickens were used in a completely randomized design with 3 dietary treatments and 9 replicate cages of 10 birds per cage for each treatment. Broilers were fed a basal diet supplemented with FBE at the level of 0, 2.5, or 5 g/kg, respectively for 42 d based on 3 dietary phases. Body weight and feed consumption were recorded weekly. Ileal mucosa samples were collected for analysis of immune response and left tibias were removed for measuring bone characteristics. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS. Increasing levels of FBE improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) (1.88 to 1.75, linear, P < 0.05) from d 29 to 42. During the whole experimental period, increasing levels of FBE decreased feed intake (4,448 to 4,121 g/bird, quadratic, P < 0.05), and tended to improve FCR (1.81 to 1.70, linear, P = 0.082) without affecting body weight gain. Increasing levels of FBE tended to increase tibia breaking strength (18.0 to 23.7 N/g, linear, P= 0.098). Supplementation of FBE did not affect the concentrations of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, and tumor necrosis factor-α in the ileal mucosa. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of FBE may improve growth efficiency of broiler chickens without affecting health status. Furthermore, it can potentially increase bone strength of broiler chickens.