Dietary supplementation of mannanoligosaccharides to turkey hens on their growth performance and antioxidant status in the blood

The research focused on the effect of a prebiotic additive, mannanoligosaccharides (Bio-Mos), in the diet of turkey hens on their growth performance and measurements of pro-oxidation and antioxidation systems in their blood. The investigation was performed on 240 six-week-old turkey hens of the heavy Big-6 breed, randomly divided into two groups. Group I was the control group, whereas the birds in group II were fed the control diet with a 0.5% addition of Bio-Mos. Bio-Mos did not increase the concentration of lipid peroxidation products, peroxide H2O2 and malone dialdehyde. However, it contributed to the increased concentration of some antioxidation parameters such as vitamin C, iron and zinc in the blood. Moreover, it led to an improved growth performance. The study suggested that mannanoligosaccharides can be used in practice as a dietary additive for turkeys, stimulating the mechanisms of the birds’ antioxidation defence and improving their growth performance.