The aim of this study was to determine the effects of xylanase and flaxseed the performance of chickens, digesta viscosity, nutrient retention, fatty acid profile in muscle, tibia strength and interrelations of these factors in broiler chickens fed a wheat-based diet. Seven hundred and twenty one-day-old Ross 308 cockerels were assigned to four treatments according to the contents of flaxseed (0 and 80 g/kg) and xylanase (0 and 0.1 g/kg) in the diet. Xylanase significantly decreased the intake of feed (p < 0.001), decreased feed conversion (p < 0.001), and reduced mortality (p = 0.050). In addition, xylanase significantly increased the retention of all nutrients (p = 0.010 -<0.001) except crude fibre, the fat content in breast meat (p = 0.029) and liver (p = 0.019) and the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in meat (p = 0.002). Flaxseed supplementation did not influence performance but decreased the retention of dry matter (p = 0.016), crude protein (p = 0.012), organic matter (p = 0.016) and nitrogen-free extract (p = 0.008). Xylanase in combination with flaxseed increased the content of n-3 fatty acids in the breast meat (p = 0.006). The lowest n-6/n-3 ratio (p = 0.001) was detected in the flaxseed and flaxseed combined with xylanase groups. Significant interaction effects of flaxseed and xylanase on tibia strength (p = 0.030) and tibia ash content (p = 0.009) were detected. The administration of xylanase or flaxseed alone increased tibia strength. Compared with the control diet, the addition of flaxseed to the diet increased the digesta viscosity (p = 0.043) in the ileum, whereas the addition of xylanase decreased the level of this indicator. It can be concluded that xylanase is an enzyme suitable for increasing nutrient availability, and in the case of its addition to a flaxseed diet, it can reduce the antinutritional effect of flaxseed by reducing the viscosity of the digesta and increasing the content of health-promoting n-3 PUFAs.

• MeSH
• Endo-1,4-beta Xylanases * metabolism   MeSH
• Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena MeSH
• Bone Density drug effects   MeSH
• Animal Feed * analysis   MeSH
• Chickens * MeSH
• Flax * chemistry   MeSH
• Polysaccharides * pharmacology   MeSH
• Dietary Supplements * analysis   MeSH
• Tibia drug effects   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Endo-1,4-beta Xylanases * MeSH
• Polysaccharides * MeSH

Incorporating of agro-industrial co-products into animal nutrition could represent an opportunity to lessen the environmental impact of the food production chain. One such co-product is a hempseed cake originating from cold pressing hemp seeds to extract oil for human consumption. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the action of hempseed cake in the diet on male rabbit reproductive and some non-reproductive indexes. Male rabbits were fed either a standard diet (control group; C; n = 10) or a diet enriched with hempseed cake (experimental group E5 with 5% of a hempseed cake; n = 10, and experimental group E10 with 10% of a hempseed cake; n = 10) in 100 kg of the milled complete feed mixture. Rabbit weight gain, sperm concentration, motility, progressive motility, and sperm quality were evaluated using CASA and flow cytometry. Feeding with a hempseed cake, given at both tested concentrations, had no effect on weight gain per week and the total average weight gain compared to the control group (p > 0.05). Hempseed cake addition had no effect on sperm concentration in ejaculate, sperm motility, and progressive motility (p > 0.05). Selected haematological and biochemical indexes were examined. The E5 group showed positive tendencies in hepatic profile parameters, while in the E10 group the tendencies were opposite, though within the reference values. Based on our results, no negative effects of hempseed cake feeding on rabbit reproduction and health status were found, and we can recommend the use of hempseed cake at doses up to 10% in the nutrition and feeding of rabbits. Therefore, agro-industrial co-products can decrease the feeding cost.

• Keywords
• Oryctolagus cuniculus, health status, hempseed cake, nutrition, performance, semen quality,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

The aims of this work were to summarize the nutritional value of the milk thistle seed cakes and hempseed cakes and describe the influence on selected performance parameters, metabolism and animal health from inclusion of these non-traditional feeds into diets. It seems more appropriate to apply the extract of the bioactive substances complex to the livestock diets than addition of expellers or other forms of plants processing. The seed expellers, etc. mostly worsened the chickens' performance parameters with higher doses in diets, while most of the work using the extract yields had positive results on animal performance.

• Keywords
• Cannabis sativa, Silybum marianum, broilers, expellers, hens, pomace, poultry nutrition,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH