modulating broiler gut microbial population: the prebiotic effect of date pit powder in wheat-based diets

This study examined the prebiotic potential of date pit powder incorporated into a wheat-based diet, on the performance in broiler chickens. in this experiment 240 broiler chicks were used in a completely randomized design with six treatments and five replicates. the experimental treatments consisted of: 1- positive control (pc, based on the corn-soybean meal), 2-negative control (nc, based on the wheat-soybean meal), 3- ncp; nc with prebiotic, 4- nce; nc with enzyme, 5- 1.5ncdp; nc with 1.5 % date pit powder and 6- 3ncdp; nc with 3 % date pit powder. the results showed that during the starter period, the pc group had the lowest feed intake and the best feed conversion ratio among the groups (p<0.05). the escherichia coli population in cecal contents of the nce and 3ncdp groups were lower significantly than in pc. the ileal content ph in nc was higher than that in pc, nce, and 1.5ncdp groups. by adding prebiotics and enzymes to wheat-based broiler diets, the primary and secondary antibody titers against srbc were increased compared to nc group. in conclusion, supplementing wheat-based broiler diets with 1.5% date pit powder enhanced birds gut health.