Abstract

Background:
Nanotechnology provides precise delivery methods for eliminating antimicrobial resistance and is a viable alternative to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs).

Aim:
This study assessed the use of electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-beta-glucan nanofibers as a dietary supplement for broilers.

Methods:
A completely randomized design was implemented including 36 Cobb broilers (aged 14–21 days; 6 groups; 6 birds per group) for a duration of 7 days: Stimuno 50 mg (P1), beta-glucan 200 mg (P2), PVA 10%-beta glucan nanofiber at 200 mg (P3), 400 mg (P4), and 600 mg (P5), in addition to a basic diet control (P6). The in vivo evaluation demonstrated the physiological safety of supplementation.

Results:
No significant differences in growth performance or relative internal organ weights were observed across treatments (p > 0.05). Nonetheless, advantageous biological tendencies were noted: P3 exhibited a numerically lower feed conversion ratio (1.54) compared to P6 (1.99), while P4 demonstrated the maximum body weight growth (420.0 ± 94.9 g) alongside the lowest heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (0.009), indicating minimal stress. Vaccinated avians sustained protective immunity against Newcastle disease, with the highest geometric mean titer recorded in P2 (28.5), reaching the required threshold (≥16).

Conclusion:
Scanning electron microscopy consistently demonstrated uniform fibers with a mean diameter of 30.81 nm, whereas Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy affirmed significant chemical interactions. PVA-beta-glucan nanofibers are a secure additive with acceptable material properties.

Key words: Beta-glucan; Broiler; Electrospinning; Hemagglutination inhibition; Nanofiber.