Rajesh Jha

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa | UH Manoa · Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences

Poultry is widely produced and consumed meat globally. Its demand is expected to continue increasing to meet the animal protein requirement for ever-increasing human population. Thus, the challenge that poultry scientists and industry face are to produce sufficient amount of poultry meat in the most efficient way. In the past, using antibiotics to...

Animal performance, feed efficiency, and overall health are heavily dependent on gut health. Changes in animal production systems and feed regulations away from the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) have necessitated the identification of strategies to optimize gut health in novel and effective ways. Among alternatives to AGP, the inclusion...

Probiotics are live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits to the host. The use of probiotics in poultry has increased steadily over the years due to higher demand for antibiotic-free poultry. The objective of this systematic review is to present and evaluate the effects of probiotics on the nutrient uti...

Dietary fiber (DF) was considered an antinutritional factor due to its adverse effects on feed intake and nutrient digestibility. However, with increasing evidence, scientists have found that DF has enormous impacts on the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, digestive physiology, including nutrient digestion, fermentation, and absorption proc...

Early growth and development of the gastrointestinal tract are of critical importance to enhance nutrients' utilization and optimize the growth of poultry. In the current production system, chicks do not have access to feed for about 48-72 h during transportation between hatchery and production farms. This lag time affects early nutrient intake, na...

Background Global warming leading to heat stress (HS) is becoming a major challenge for broiler production. This study aimed to explore the protective effects of seaweed ( Enteromorpha prolifera ) polysaccharides (EPS) on the intestinal barrier function, microbial ecology, and performance of broilers under HS. A total of 144 yellow-feathered broile...

Microalgae are becoming potential sustainable feed ingredients, whereas terrestrial feedstuffs are becoming scarce and costly. They are rich in nutritional and functional values but have lower digestibility. This study evaluated the effects of microalgae with or without xylanase supplementation on growth performance and gut health of broiler chicke...

The use of black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFL) as an alternative protein source to soybean meal (SBM) is becoming increasingly important in broiler diet. This study evaluated the effect of partially replacing SBM with defatted-BSFL in the broiler's diets. A total of 90 one-day-old male chicks (Ross 308) were allocated equally (6 pens/treatment, 5...

Traditionally, carbohydrates from cereal grains have been the most abundant energy source in swine diets. This chapter describes three categories of dietary energy sources: developments in traditional crops, alternative crops, and coproducts resulting from the biofuel and food industry and crop fractionation. It focuses on new developments within t...

Probiotics can effectively improve ulcerative colitis (UC), but the mechanism is still unclear. Here, shotgun metagenome and transcriptome analyses were performed to explore the therapeutic effect and the mechanism of the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum HNU082 (Lp082) on UC. The results showed that Lp082 treatment significantly ameliorated dextra...

1. Moulting is a natural physiological process in birds when they shed their old feathers and replace them with new ones, and it is followed by reproductive quiescence resulting in reduced egg production. Different birds undergo moulting at different points in their life. Some birds have seasonal moulting while some moult at the end of their breedi...

Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth, thus it was hypothesized that immunization of hens against MSTN would enhance post-hatch growth and muscle mass via suppression of MSTN activity by anti-MSTN IgY in fertilized eggs. This study investigated the effects of immunization of hens against chicken MSTN (chMSTN) or a MSTN...

The post-acidification of yogurt results in short shelf life, undesirable flavor, and sour taste, making it unacceptable to consumers. Many scholars have proposed several solutions to this problem. However, the existing methods of inhibiting post-acidification cannot fundamentally solve this problem. So exploring the molecular mechanism behind post...

In the perspective of the global climate change leading to increasing temperature, heat stress (HS) has become a severe issue in broiler production, including the indigenous yellow-feathered broilers. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of HS on jejunal immune response, microbiota structure and their correlation in yellow-feathered b...

Background Alternative feedstuffs may contribute to reducing feed costs of pig production. But these feedstuffs are typically rich in fiber and resistant starch (RS). Dietary fibers and RS are fermented in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and modulate the microbial community. Certain microbes in the GIT can promote host health, depending on the typ...

This study was done to evaluate the effects of heat stress (HS) on production performance, redox status, small intestinal barrier-related parameters, cecal microbiota, and metabolome of indigenous broilers. A total of forty female indigenous broilers (56-day-old) were randomly and equally divided into normal treatment group (NT group, 21.3 ± 1.2°C,...

Background: As a chronic relapsing disease, probiotic treatment of ulcerative colitis can avoid resistance and side effects of conventional treatment, but its mechanism of action is unknown. This study investigated the therapeutic effect and mechanism of action of potential probiotics Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HNU082 (Lp082) on dextran sulfate...

Abstract Background This study investigated a novel in ovo feeding strategy to determine the prebiotic effects of xylo- and mannan- oligosaccharides (XOS and MOS) differing in the degree of polymerization. A total of 192 fertilized eggs were divided into 6 treatment groups: i) normal saline control (NSC), ii) xylotriose (XOS3), iii) xylotetraose (X...

Maintaining a healthy gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is critical for better nutrient utilization, optimum performance, and overall health of poultry. Thus, several nutritional strategies have been tried to improve poultry’s gut health. More recently, different nutrients and feed additives are being used in poultry diets with some success when antibio...

Background This study evaluated the effects of supplemental xylanase and xylooligosaccharides (XOS) in a corn-soybean meal (SBM)-based diet on growth performance and intestinal health of broilers. A total of 288 day-old chicks (Cobb 500) were allocated to 36 floor pens (8 birds/pen) equally in 9 dietary treatments in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement....

Heat stress accounts for substantial economic loss in the poultry industry by altering the health and performance of chickens. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a water and fat-soluble antioxidant which is readily absorbed from the intestine resulting in maximum bioavailability. Moreover, ALA acts as a coenzyme in glucose metabolism and helps generate oth...

The present study investigated the effect of dietary soluble flaxseed oil (SFO), as a source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, on the fatty acid composition of egg yolk and various indices including laying performance, egg quality, nutrient composition of eggs, egg stability upon storage, and serum characteristics in laying hens. A total of 2...

Approximately 17 million people suffer from cardiovascular diseases caused by hyper-lipidemia, making it a serious global health concern. Among others, resistant starch (RS) has been widely used as a prebiotic in managing hyperlipidemia conditions. However, some studies have reported limited effects of RS on body weight and blood lipid profile of t...

This study investigated the taxonomic profile and abundance distribution of the bacterial community in the ceca of feral and pasture-raised broiler (commercial) chickens. Cecal content from feral and commercial chickens (n = 7 each) was collected, and total DNA was isolated. Next-Generation Sequencing (Illumina MiSeq) was performed to characterize...

This study investigated the effect of xylanase and fiber on growth response, cecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) production, and cecal microbiota diversity in broilers. A total of 180 day-old chicks (Cobb 500) were randomly distributed in 30 pens (6 birds/pen). Six dietary treatments were tested using a completely randomized design in a 3 × 2 fact...

This study evaluated short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production from purified fiber sources when fermented in vitro using pig cecal contents as an inoculum. Fiber sources of interest were inulin from chicory root (native and long-chain inulin with 90 and 98% fiber, respectively), pectin from citrus peel (high methoxyl pectin), resistant starch (nativ...

Background The mechanism of egg formation in the oviduct of laying hens is tightly controlled; each segment of the oviduct contributes a unique component of the egg. Several genes/proteins are involved in the synthesis of a completely healthy egg. This implies a time- and tissue-specific expression of genes and proteins in the different oviductal s...

The eBook, comprising an Editorial and 15 chapter articles, is now available online. You can download either any chapter or whole book for free from the website (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/7568/nutritional-intervention-for-the-intestinal-health-of-young-monogastric-animals)

The present study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation of Enteromorpha polysaccharides (EP) on carcass traits of broilers and potential molecular mechanisms associated with it. This study used RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) to detect modification in mRNA transcriptome and the cognate biological pathways affecting the carcass traits. A total o...

Background Due to presence of drug-resistant Eimeria strains and raised public health safety concerns about drug residues in the meat, there is renewed interest in the search for natural alternatives to the coccidiosis control agents. This study was conducted to test the anticoccidial efficacy of oregano and C itrus spp.-based essential oils for br...

Background Heat stress is a significant problem in the poultry industry, causing a severe economic loss due to its detrimental effects on chickens’ health and performance. Dried plum (DP) is a good source of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and phenolic compounds. Studies have suggested that DP has several health benefits, such as maintaining the...

Poultry and pig production have increased at a faster rate than any other livestock production globally (1). Among others, nutritionally balanced-feeding programs, along with antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in feeds, played a significant role in achieving this success (2, 3). The animal industry, however, aims to redefine its nutrition program to...

This review aims to highlight the effects of ochratoxin A (OTA) in the feed of meat-producing animals. The accumulation of OTA in feed and its distribution in various farm animals were compared and evaluated. Primarily, the oral administration of OTA-contaminated feed and the predisposition in an animal’s vital organ were critically examined in thi...

Corn, wheat, and soybean meal (SBM) have been primarily used as feedstuffs in animal feeding programs. However, it is necessary to explore and evaluate alternative feedstuffs to deal with variable costs and the supply of these conventional feedstuffs. This study determined the nutrient composition of macadamia nut cake (MNC) and its effect on the g...

Two young dogs domiciled in Honolulu, Hawaii, were presented in November and December 2018 (respectively) for spinal hyperesthesia, hindlimb weakness, and proprioceptive ataxia. Both dogs had neurologic findings referable to spinal cord disease. Both dogs had a combination of lower motor neuron signs (reduced muscle mass, decreased withdrawal refle...

Previous studies suggest a negative relationship between hepatic oxidative stress and productivity in beef cattle. Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) is involved in the disappearance of reactive oxygen species, suggesting the defensive role of UCP2 against oxidative stress. The present study examined the relationship between oxidative stress and expressio...

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of dietary algae-derived polysaccharides (ADPs) from Enteromorpha on growth performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal permeability, and antioxidant capacity in serum, liver, and intestinal mucosa of broilers. Three hundred and ninety six day-old male chicks were randomly assigned to six dietary treatm...

The chitooligosaccharide (COS) and chlorella polysaccharide (CPS) have been used as feed supplements in the poultry industry for improving growth performance and immunity. However, the benefits of these prebiotics on the gut health of chickens when used in early nutrition are unknown. This study evaluated the effects of in ovo feeding of COS and CP...

Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. A previous study showed that in ovo administration of monoclonal anti-MSTN antibody increased post-hatch body weight (BW) and muscle mass, demonstrating the potential of in ovo MSTN suppression to improve the growth performance of chicks. Therefore, we hypothesized that active immu...

The chitooligosaccharide (COS) and chlorella polysaccharide (CPS) have been widely used as feed supplements in the livestock and poultry industries for improving the growth performance and immunity. However, the benefits of these prebiotics in chicken early nutrition is unknown. This study evaluated the impacts of COS and CPS feeding in ovo on the...

It has been reported that feed enzymes and dietary fiber can modify the gut microbiota in chickens. However, it has not been understood if exogenous NSPase enzyme could act on the residual fiber passed to hind gut to provide resources for fermentation and modification of cecal microbiota in broilers. This study evaluated the effect of in vitro ferm...

This study investigated the effect of dietary arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n‐6) on final maturation, spawning performance and composition of the gonad of black sea urchin (Diadema setosum). Four different dietary ARA levels of 0.3 g/kg (Control diet), 1.4 g/kg (ARA 1.4), 2.5 g/kg (ARA 2.5) and 3.7 g/kg (ARA 3.7) were prepared and tested in this feedi...

Apart from its role as a digestive and absorptive organ, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a vital immune organ that encompasses roughly 70 % of the total immune cells of the body. As such, the physical, chemical and nutrient composition of the diet influences overall GI function, effectively as an immune organ. With the improvement in feed techno...

The objective of this study was to examine the expression profiles of follistatin (FST) and its associated molecules (MSTN, INHA, INHBB, INHBA, ACVR2A, and ACVR2B) in the oviduct of laying hens at 3 hr and 20 hr post‐ovulation (p.o., n = 5; 35 weeks old), molting (n = 5; 60 weeks old), and non‐laying (n = 4; 35–60 weeks old) hens and also to locali...

Fermented milk is an effective carrier for probiotics, whose consumption improves host health. The beneficial effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on gut dysbiosis have been reported previously. However, the way in which specific probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics regulate intestinal microbes remains unclear. Therefore, Lactobacill...

Consumer demands for chickens raised without the use of antibiotics, legislative restrictions, and trade opportunities have encouraged many integrators within the poultry industry to raise poultry without antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) and ionophores. However, with the removal of AGPs and ionophores, the incidence of enteric diseases such as co...

Algal meals from Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) and Schizochytrium limacinum were used to completely replace fish meal (FM), fish oil (FO) and soy protein concentrate (SPC) in feeds for juvenile hybrid tilapia (Orechromis niloticus x O. mossambicus). Five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic feeds were formulated to replace fish and soy ingredients a...

The aquaculture industry has explored alternative protein and lipid sources for aquaculture feed to reduce costs and promote sustainability. Microalgae is a desirable feed ingredient because it is grown in high volume and can be selected for high levels of lipids and protein. Additionally, microalgae have been recently explored as a prebiotic to pr...

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) has been promoted as an underutilized crop with tremendous potential to address global hunger and transform agricultural practices in the tropics. While traditionally confined to Oceania, breadfruit has been spread throughout the global tropics in the 250 years, with a significant increase in distribution and product...

An industry survey and animal experiment were conducted to evaluate the amino acid (AA) compositional variability and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of AA in animal protein by-products fed to growing pigs. Animal protein by-product meals (212) were categorized into 8 groupings (blood meal, chicken by-product meal, chicken meal, feather meal...

Solvent extraction of soybean creates soybean meal (SBM), but an array of other soybean products can be created using further processing of SBM or soybean. For accurate inclusion of these products in pig feed, characterization of digestible AA profile and energy value is required. Soybean products from processes such as extrusion (EX) of soybean an...

The present study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation of chitooligosaccharide (COS) on egg production, egg quality and blood profiles in laying hens. A total of 192 Hy-Line Brown laying hens (initial age- 46 weeks) were allocated to one of four treatments with eight replications per treatment and six adjacent cages as replication for e...

Early feeding with special diets to chicks immediately after hatch is becoming a popular and effective strategy to influence the overall growth and health of broilers. Resistant starch (RS) refers to the type of starch that resists digestion in upper GIT of host and can be fermented by the lower gut microbiota to produce volatile fatty acids (VFA)....

In ovo feeding of prebiotic is a novel strategy to enhance the gut health of broilers starting early post-hatch. To explore the beneficial role of prebiotic, four oligosaccharides (xylotriose, xylotetraose, mannotriose, and mannotetraose) were fed to the embryo in the egg of Cobb 500 broilers and the parameters of growth, cecal fermentation, histom...

This study evaluated the effects of a combination of xylanase, amylase, and protease (XAP), with probiotics (3 Bacillus spp.) supplementation on apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients in Cobb 500 broilers from 0 to 21 d. A completely randomized 2 × 4 factorial design (2 levels of fiber; 4 types...

Over 60 percent of the human population has a reduced ability to digest lactose due to low levels of lactase enzyme activity. Probiotics are live bacteria or yeast that supplements the gastrointestinal flora. Studies have shown that probiotics exhibit various health beneficial properties such as improvement of intestinal health, enhancement of the...

Dietary fibers (DF) contain an abundant amount of energy, although the mammalian genome does not encode most of the enzymes required to degrade them. However, a mutual dependence is developed between the host and symbiotic microbes, which has the potential to extract the energy present in these DF. Dietary fibers escape digestion in the foregut and...

Fermentation characteristics and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)production of purified starch sources differing in physico-chemical properties and in vitro digestion kinetics were investigated using an in vitro porcine model. Four starch sources (rapidly digestible, RD; moderately rapid digestible, MRD; moderately slow digestible, MSD; and slowly dig...

Exploration and evaluation of alternative feedstuffs in the poultry diets are critical to the industry when the prices of conventional energy sources (i.e., corn and wheat) fluctuate widely and are limited in supply. Cassava root chips (CRC) is rich in energy and fiber, and thus may serve as an alternative energy source in poultry diets, while the...

Healthy gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is crucial for optimum performance, better feed efficiency, and overall health of poultry. In the past, antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) were commonly used to modulate the gut health of animals. However, considering the public health concern, the use of AGP in animal feeding is banned or regulated in several ju...

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) provides the biological environment for nutrient digestion and absorption, and protection from pathogens and toxins. Broilers are fast growing because of the great potential of intestinal epithelia for nutrient absorption, and efficient conversion of nutrient to muscle. Physiologically, reactive oxygen species (ROS)...

Animal protein byproducts (APB) are produced in slaughter houses and rendering plants derived from a wide array of inedible carcass tissues including blood, feathers, bones, and other miscellaneous tissues. Along with their high mineral content, APB are also high in energy and amino acids (AA). The objective of this study was to characterize the va...

Although swine diseases and parasites cause significant losses to producers in Hawai’i, limited information is available on changing disease patterns and related farm practices. The objectives of this study were to identify practices used on Hawai’i swine farms and to determine if there is a relationship between those practices and the absence or p...

Fermentation substrate modulates the composition of microbial community and the end products of microbial metabolism. Xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS) and manno-oligosaccharide (MOS) are newly developed functional oligosaccharides or the prebiotics produced from xylan and mannan, respectively by enzymatic hydrolysis that has a lot of beneficial immunolog...

Eggshell is the outermost calcified covering of an egg that protects it from microbial invasion and physical damage, and is critical for egg quality. However, understanding of the genes/proteins and the biological pathways regulating the eggshell formation is still obscure. We hypothesized that the transcriptomic analysis of the chicken uteri using...

Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP; arabinoxylan, mannans) are present in high concentration in distiller's dried grain with solubles (DDGS). These NSP are not degraded by endogenous digestive enzymes of pigs. The purpose of this study was to determine if supplemental enzymes could increase the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of nutrients in nurser...

The yellowfoot limpet (Cellana sandwicensis) is a proposed candidate aquaculture species because of its depleted wild fishery and high socioeconomic value. In this study, aquaculture methods were examined for broodstock maturation, synchronous spawning, and larval rearing to settlement in the laboratory. Wild limpets ripened in the laboratory were...

Molluscan aquaculture produces the most food fish by volume in the global mariculture market. The historical, cultural and ecological value of molluscs makes them a highly sought-after delicacy in many regions of the world. Specifically, the aquaculture of abalone and that of limpets are two key industries with striking similarities and importance...

Due to the claimed public health concerns, use of antibiotics as growth promoters (AGP) in the chicken feed is banned or regulated in several jurisdictions. Therefore, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics are being evaluated as effective alternatives to AGP to improve growth performance and health of poultry. This study aimed to investigate the e...