Computed Tomography—Based Assessment of Bone Morphometry and Mineral Composition in Broilers Fed Diets Supplemented with Probiotics and Phytogenic Additives

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with the probiotic Zoovit LL – alone or combined with phytogenic additives – on bone mor-phometry and bone mineral composition in broiler chickens via computed tomography (CT) and bone mineral profile analysis. To this end, 180 day-old male ROSS 308 chicks were randomly divided in three groups: control (standard diet), experimental supple-mented with Zoovit LL probiotic (0.25%) and experimental supplemented with Zoovit LL probiotic (0.25%) combined with Silybum marianum, Urtica dioica and Taraxacum officinale phytogenic additives (1%). At the end of the trial period, femoral bone samples were col-lected for CT morphometric and densitometric analysis consisting of bone length, cortical thickness and radiodensity determinations. Also, sternum samples were obtained for ICP-MS analysis of the mineral bone composition (calcium, phosphorus and magnesium). The trial duration was 42 days, under controlled rearing conditions. The results showed statistically significantly lower femur length in the probiotic-supplemented group compared to the probiotic-herb group. Regarding the other studied morphometric param-eters, cortical bone density, cortical structural indices and bone mineral content, no statis-tically significant between-group differences were found. Bone density tended to be greater in supplemented groups, especially when the probiotic was co-administered with phyto-genic substances.