Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jul 2;15(1):23678.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-09289-0.

Influence of fermented whey protein fractions on the growth performance, haematological traits, serum biochemistry, faecal and caeca microbiota of broiler chickens

Bhagyashree Das  1 , Mansi Desai  2 , Nikesh J Bhagora  3 , Prakash Koringa  4 , Mohsin Pathan  5 , J C Thakor  6 , Fulabhai P Savaliya  3 , Shaikh Adil  7 , Subrota Hati  8
Affiliations

Influence of fermented whey protein fractions on the growth performance, haematological traits, serum biochemistry, faecal and caeca microbiota of broiler chickens

Bhagyashree Das et al. Sci Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Nowadays researchers and consumers are concerned about antibiotic resistance in poultry products causing antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Here, we investigated the effects of fermented whey peptides (FWP) with Limosilactobacillus fermentum (M4) as a nutraceutical supplement on growth performance, blood parameters, relative organs, and metagenomic analysis of broiler chickens, aiming to develop substitute for antibiotics in poultry feeds. An active culture of Lactobacillus fermentum (M4, GenBank Accession Number: MF951096) was inoculated into sterilized cheese whey at a rate of 2% (v/v) (107 CFU/ml) and incubated at 37 °C for 48 h. Ninety-six one-day-old mixed-sex commercial broiler chicks were randomly assigned in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) experiment with four treatments, each having four replicates of six broiler chickens (6 × 4 × 4). One millilitre of liquid FWP fractions (> 10 kDa, < 10 kDa, and < 3 kDa) was freshly prepared and administered daily to the respective groups along with the basal diet from the 8th to the 15th day. Our current study revealed that supplementation with FWPs to broiler diets had no significant (p < 0.05) impact on body weight and FCR but numerically FCR value was high in control group. Blood cholesterol was significantly reduced in FWP fed groups. FWP had no significant impact on various blood parameters but influenced leukocytes and platelets. Metagenomic analysis showed no significant differences in microbial proportions. Histological analysis revealed no organ toxicity. The current findings suggest that broiler diets can substitute FWP for antibiotics to improve the growth performance and birds' health, without posing any biohazards. Furthermore, FWPs provide a variety of health benefits, potentially improving the health of humans who consume broiler meat or eggs.

Keywords: Blood cholesterol; Broiler birds; Cheddar cheese whey; Lactobacillus; Metagenome; Whey peptides.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: Not applicable. Consent to participate: All authors have read and approved the revised manuscript and informed of the submission to Scientific Reports. Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effect of dietary supplementation with different fractions of FWP on body weight gain of broiler chickens. Values with different superscripts differ significantly (p < 0.05), Mean ± SD, n = 4.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effect of dietary supplementation with different fractions of FWP on feed intake of broiler chickens. Values with different superscripts differ significantly (p < 0.05), Mean ± SD, n = 4.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effect of dietary supplementation with different fractions of FWP on FCR of broiler chickens [Values with different superscripts differ significantly (p < 0.05), Mean ± SD, n = 4].
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Effects of dietary supplementation with different fractions of FWP on Lipid profile and glucose content of broiler chickens. Values with different superscripts differ significantly (p < 0.05), Mean ± SD, n = 4.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Presents the photomicrographs of Hematoxylin and Eosin-stained heart, intestine, and liver sections of various groups of broiler chickens.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
A Alpha diversity measures of cecal content. B Nonmetric multidimensional screening (NMDS) plot produced by means of Bray–Curtis distance and grouped by treatments. C Canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) plot produced by means of Bray–Curtis distance and grouped by treatments. D Bar plots showing diversity at Phylum level taxonomy. E Bar plots showing diversity at Genus level taxonomy. F The comparison of mean relative abundance of different phyla in different treatment groups. G Plot of different phylum composition of various treatment groups.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
A Alpha diversity measures of cecal content. B Nonmetric multidimensional screening (NMDS) plot produced by means of Bray–Curtis distance and grouped by treatments. C Canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) plot produced by means of Bray–Curtis distance and grouped by treatments. D Bar plots showing diversity at Phylum level taxonomy. E Bar plots showing diversity at Genus level taxonomy. F The comparison of mean relative abundance of different phyla in different treatment groups. G Plot of different phylum composition of various treatment groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Buchanan, D., Martindale, W., Romeih, E. & Hebishy, E. Recent advances in whey processing and valorisation: technological and environmental perspectives. Int. J. Dairy Technol.76(2), 291–312. 10.1111/1471-0307.12935 (2023).
    1. Kolev Slavov, A. General characteristics and treatment possibilities of dairy wastewater–a review. Food Technol. Biotechnol.55(1), 14–28. 10.17113/ftb.55.01.17.4520 (2017). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bintsis, T. & Papademas, P. Sustainable approaches in whey cheese production: a review. Dairy4(2), 249–270. 10.3390/dairy4020018 (2023).
    1. Pal, S., McKay, J., Jane, M. & Ho, S. Dairy whey proteins and obesity. In Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Abdominal Obesity 261–278 (Academic Press, 2019). 10.1016/B978-0-12-816093-0.00020-3.
    1. Wolfe, R. R. Branched-chain amino acids and muscle protein synthesis in humans: myth or reality?. J. Int. Soc. Sports Nutr.14(1), 30. 10.1186/s12970-017-0184-9 (2017). - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources