It might be possible to add anti-bacterial properties of herbal medicines with GLR or GLRF to develop the new functional feeds with prebiotic, immune-stimulatory and anti-bacterial activities to reduce the uses of antibiotics and needed further investigations.
These broiler chicks were randomly divided into five groups (N = 6, two chicks in one cage), the control group fed with medium-sized broiler chick feeds (Fwusow Industry Co. Ltd ,Shalu, Taichung) and four groups fed with functional feeds, 4 or 8%% (w/w) of GLR and GLRF powders added in the medium-sized feeds, for 3 weeks.
The functional feeds contained increased EPA levels, from 3.6% in a reference feed to 14%, and reduced dietary lipid, from 31%to18%8% in the functional feeds.
The added oil in the functional feeds was provided by a Southern hemisphere FO.
In ventricle, fish fed both functional feeds showed lower histoscores although they were not significantly different.
Overall, the functional feeds resulted in down-regulated levels of immune genes, suggestive of immune suppressive actions.
Furthermore, liver pathology was significantly reduced during the time course of the infection in fish fed the functional feeds.
The functional feeds used in the present study were beneficial for the prevention of liver pathology associated with CMS.
Hepatic steatosis associated with CMS was significantly reduced over the time course of the infection in fish fed the functional feeds.
Thus a clinical nutrition approach using functional feeds potentially enables a shift away from chemotherapeutic and antibiotic treatments, lowering the costs of disease treatment and management [ 13].
Data are expression ratios (fold changes) of fish fed the functional feeds (CMS1 and CMS2) relative to the REF diet during the course of the infection.
