Alternative antimicrobials from chicken blood

Principal Investigator

Max Hincke, University of Ottawa

Year the work was done

2014-2017

Overall objective

  • To purify and validate poultry histones purified from red blood cells as an alternative antimicrobial agent, in order to increase the value of abattoir blood for the turkey, chicken broiler and layer (spent-hen) industries.

Outcomes

  • Purified histone H5 from chicken erythrocytes possesses potent antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative planktonic bacteria and biofilm forming bacteria.

Application

  • Histone H5 and H5-derived peptides are potential antimicrobial candidates and could add a high market value to poultry blood from slaughter operations.

This research applies to

Breeders, Broilers, Layers, Turkeys

This research was supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Poultry Research Council, Tom Henderson Custom Meat Cutting and Laplante Poultry Farm.