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. 2024 Sep;103(9):103973.
doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103973. Epub 2024 Jun 13.

Formic acid as an antibiotic alternative in broiler diets: effects on growth, carcass characteristics, blood chemistry, and intestinal microbial load

Mohamed E Abd El-Hack  1 , Elwy A Ashour  2 , Islam M Youssef  3 , Ahmed I Elsherbeni  3 , Guillermo Tellez-Isaias  4 , Ahmed K Aldhalmi  5 , Ayman A Swelum  6 , Soha A Farag  7
Affiliations

Formic acid as an antibiotic alternative in broiler diets: effects on growth, carcass characteristics, blood chemistry, and intestinal microbial load

Mohamed E Abd El-Hack et al. Poult Sci. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

This study explored the ability of formic acid (FA) to replace antibiotics in broiler chicken diets. It examined how FA affected the chickens' growth, carcass characteristics, blood chemistry, and gut bacteria. The experiment randomly assigned 300 one-day-old (Ross 308) broiler chicks to 5 groups, each divided into 6 replicates with 10 unsexed chicks. The following were the treatments: 1st group, negative control (NC): only received a basal diet; 2nd group, positive control (PC): received a basal diet supplemented with 0.5 grams of Colistin antibiotic per kilogram of diet; 3rd, 4th, and 5th groups (FA2, FA4, and FA6) these groups received a basal diet along with formic acid added at increasing levels: 2, 4, and 6 Cm3 per kilogram of diet, respectively. Results found no significant differences in live body weight (LBW) or body weight gain (BWG) between treatment groups, except for LBW at one week and BWG at 0 to 1 and 4 to 5 wk of age. No significant variations were found in feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) among the treatment groups, excluding FI and FCR at 1 to 2 wk of age. The treatments significantly impacted carcass traits, dressing percentage, breast meat, thigh meat, spleen, giblets, blood levels of urea, creatinine, total protein, globulin, and albumin, as well as the activity of enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in chicks fed different diets compared to control groups. The addition of FA to the diet significantly impacted antioxidant levels. Also, the FA2 group had the highest total bacterial count (TBC). However, the FA6 group was the opposite; it had the lowest levels of harmful bacteria, such as E. coli and Coliform. Supplementing broiler diets with formic acid improves blood parameters, antioxidant activity, and gut bacteria counts, with 4.0 cm³ formic acid/kg diet supplementation promoting optimal broiler health and product quality.

Keywords: antioxidant activity; broiler; formic acid; healthy product; microbiota.

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Conflict of interest statement

DISCLOSURES The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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