Xóchitl Hernández Velasco

IntroductionModern broiler chickens are most certainly a most visible manifestation of genetic advancements. At hatch, a Cobb500 broiler weighs 42 grams. This newborn chick grows 31 % (55 g/bird) in just twenty-four hours. By day 35 of age, this chicken reaches a body weightof 2,521 grams, representing 5,902 % relative to hatching mass (Cobb-Vantres 500, 2022). Genetic selection, food, health, and ...

INTRODUCTIONThe integrity of the gut is fundamental in birds as the mechanisms of digestion and absorption are inherent in the physiological metabolism of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and cannot be manipulated1. Numerous infectious and non-infectious agents can damage intestinal mucosa, as well as compromise digestion and absorption2. Among them, coccidia infections represent one of the most i ...

1. IntroductionPoultry and mycotoxins have been closely linked for several decades, as they are one of the most sensitive animal species to the toxic effects of mycotoxins. In the poultry industry, the ingestion of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) lead to the impairment of all the essential productive parameters [1,2] and decreased resistance to common infectious diseases due to the depression of the humoral a ...

1. IntroductionMycotoxins are secondary toxic metabolites produced by filamentous fungi which, even at low concentrations, represent an important danger for both animal and human health [1,2]. Currently, over 300 mycotoxins have been identified worldwide, being aflatoxins, ochratoxins, zearalenone, trichothecenes, and fumonisins, the most frequently found with synergistic toxic effects reported wh ...

1. IntroductionIn recent years, a considerable attention to essential oils (EO) as nutraceuticals in livestock production has occurred, mainly as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) worldwide. Essential oils are derived from various plants as secondary metabolites with well-documented antibacterial [1], antiviral [2], antifungal [3], antioxidant [4], digestive stimulants [5], and ...

INTRODUCTIONCoccidiosis presently proves to be a major and pressing protozoan disease in the poultry industry worldwide (Dalloul and Lillehoj, 2006). Coccidiosis is caused by a protozoan parasite from the genus Eimeria. The life cycle of coccidial parasites includes asexual and sexual replication stages and begins when a bird ingests sporulated oocysts from the environment, as described by Conway ...

INTRODUCTIONDistillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) are by-products obtained during production of biofuels as renewable energy sources. During starch fermentation from cereal grains, ethanol and CO2 are produced; meanwhile, the remaining nutrients are concentrated in the DDGS fraction (Singh et al., 2005). Corn is the main cereal used in ethanol production in the United States; however, other ...

1. IntroductionA previous study reported nontyphoidal Salmonella spp., Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter spp., and Escherichia coli as some of the most important foodborne bacterial pathogens in the U.S. [1]. Overall, health-related cost associated with the food borne illness from those pathogens was estimated to be around $51.0 and $77.7 billion based on a basic and enhanced model, respectiv ...

INTRODUCTIONThe domestic chicken has been an essential animal model and constitutes a remarkable source of high-quality protein for humans (Stern, 2005). Within the last 60 years, genetics of the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) have been able to create a bird that reaches commercial body weight in 5 weeks (Burt, 2007). Unfortunately, with this astonishing genetic development, other dis ...

1. IntroductionWeaning is one of the most stressful events in pig production [1]. Early weaned piglets face several nutritional and psychosocial stressors, including the transition to a solid diet and the abrupt separation of sows and piglets [2]. These events coincide with an immature immune and digestive system [3], which has consequences, such as the reduced activity of digestive enzymes, chang ...