Effects of dietary addition of Macleaya cordata alkaloid extract on growth performance, caecal indices and breast meat fatty acids profile in male broilers.

The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether a low-dietary application (15 mg/kg) of an alkaloid preparation containing quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids and obtained from Macleaya cordata (Sangrovit) influenced caecal metabolism, growth performance and long-chain fatty acid composition of breast meat. One-day-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were fed a diet without supplement or with a 15 mg/kg dose of Sangrovit (C and A groups respectively) for 5 weeks. Although the A treatment was not accompanied by an enhanced final body weight of broilers, the intake of a diet with Sangrovit influenced the caecal microflora activity. The addition of Sangrovit to a diet decreased potentially harmful β-glucuronidase and β-glucosidase activities (p<0.05 and p=0.075 respectively), and at the same time led to a significant increase in activities of bacterial glycolytic enzymes α-glucosidase, α-galactosidase, β-galactosidase in comparison to the control group. The concentration of total short-chain fatty acids in the caecal digesta was increased in the A treatment contributing to the tendency towards lower caecal pH (p=0.078). The analysis of breast meat fatty acids showed that the dietary application of Sangrovit evoked some changes in contents of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) contents. The applied dosage of Sangrovit caused an increase in the sum of MUFA and the tendency towards lower PUFA sum (p<0.05 and p=0.062 respectively) as in relation with the C group. Although the nutritionally relevant n-6/n-3 PUFA and the (PUFA+MUFA)/saturated fatty acids ratios remained similar in both groups, further research is postulated to establish the effect of this preparation on meat quality. To sum up, despite of a lack of the improvement in final body weight, a low dose of dietary Sangrovit was found to exert positive effects on the caecal metabolism of the broilers.