Detection of common gut bacteria of chicken (gallus gallus domesticus) fed with a supplementary diet of moringa oleifera and curcuma aeruginosa powder

An abstract of the research paper presented to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in partial requirement for the course DVT 55204- Research Project The gut microbiome is an important community housed by the digestive tract. Dysbiosis of this community is commonly credited as the source of immunosuppression and disease in the host. Various plant-based supplements have been widely researched to determine the effect of it on this community. This study looks at two common native plants which are Moringa oleifera (Moringa) and Curcuma aeruginosa (Black ginger) respectively and its effect on an animal model, which is the Gallus gallus domesticus (Chicken). This study was conducted to
determine the effect that these plants have on the gut microbiome. Established phyla primers were used to identify the presence of these bacteria in the cecal contents of the chicken. The result showed that these common gut bacteria were detected, and these primers were effective in detecting the common gut bacteria phyla-namely Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. However, it was inconclusive as to which supplementation was successful in dysbiosis or eubiosis of the gut microbiome. This preliminary successfully identified 3 major phyla of the gut bacteria in all sample groups. Supplementation with 2% moringa and black ginger powder did not yield any difference in the detection using conventional PCR.
Keywords: common gut microbiome, Moringa oleifera (moringa), Curcuma aeruginosa (black ginger)