Effect of supplementing direct-fed microbials on broiler performance, nutrient digestibilities, and immune responses

Abstract

Direct-fed microbials (DFM) are used to improve livestock health and performance. The effects of 2 DFM products, a blend of 3 Bacillus strains (DFMB) and a Propionibacteriumspp. (DFMP), on broiler performance, nutrient utilization, and immune responses were investigated. Day-old (n = 120) male broilers were divided into 24 groups of 5 birds and fed 3 wheat-based diets in mash form (8 groups per diet) from d 1 to 22. The control diet was fed without or with 7.5 × 10(4) cfu/g of either DFMB or DFMP. From d 19 to 21 fecal samples were collected for determination of total tract apparent retention (TTAR) of nutrients and AMEn. On d 21, feed intake and BW were determined. On d 22, 5 birds per treatment were killed by cervical dislocation to collect jejunal and ileal contents for determination of digesta viscosity and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of nutrients, respectively, and ileum, cecal tonsil, and spleen tissues for Toll-like receptors (TLR) and cytokine expressions. Compared with the control, DFM did not affect BW gain and feed intake but DFMP reduced G:F (P < 0.01). Compared with the control (2,875 kcal/kg), birds fed on DFMB and DFMP had higher AMEn (2,979 and 2,916 kcal/kg, respectively; P < 0.05), whereas both DFM reduced the AID of DM (P < 0.001) and CP (P < 0.01). Furthermore, DFMP reduced TTAR of NDF (29.0 vs. 18.4%; P < 0.001), whereas both DFM increased TTAR of DM and fat (P < 0.001). Supplementing DFMP downregulated ileal expression of TLR-2b, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-13, whereas DFMB downregulated TLR-2b, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-6 in all 3 tissues, IL-10 in the spleen, and upregulated IL-13 in the spleen. In conclusion, the DFM did not improve performance but increased the AMEn of diet by possibly increasing DM and fat retention. Overall, both DFM showed an antiinflammatory effect in the ileum, but DFMB had more effects on local and systemic immunity than DFMP.

Utility of Feed Enzymes and Yeast Derivatives in Ameliorating Deleterious Effects of Coccidiosis on Intestinal Health and Function in Broiler Chickens

“…Many yeast species are recognized safe by many regulatory authorities such as Qualified Presumption of Safety status assigned by the European Food Safety Authority, the Association of American Feed Control Officials and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. However, in general, most commercial probiotic feed additives for poultry are of bacterial preparations e.g., (49)(50)(51)(52)(53). The few non-bacterial (yeast or fungal) probiotics includes Aspergillus oryzae (54,55), Candida pintolopesii (54), Candida saitoana, Saccharomyces bourlardii (56), and S. cerevisiae (57).…”

Efficacy of Rhodopseudomonas containing multi-microbe probiotic on growth performance, mortality and cecal microflora in broilers

“…Probiotics are involved in protection against a variety of pathogens in chickens (Escherichia coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella) and can reduce the mortality of birds (Cross, 2002;Gunal et al, 2006); which might be the ultimate fate of improvement of the immunoglobulin status. The gut and its resident microbiota play an essential role in shaping the immune system (Waititu et al, 2014); while probiotics promote such types of biological shaping of the immune system (Salminen et al, 1996).…”

“…They have beneficial effects on growth performance (Kabir, 2009), health of the host (Guarner et al, 2003), increase nutrient digestibility (Mountzouris et al, 2010), modulate intestinal microflora (Teo and Tan, 2007), and facilitate development of humoral immunity (Waititu et al, 2014). There are variety of microrganisms widely used in the animal as well as poultry nutrition including Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Pediococcus, Aspergillus, Candida and Saccharomyces species, a variety of yeast species, and undefined mixed cultures (Patterson and Burkholder, 2003;Kabir, 2009).…”

Nutraceuticals Induced Structural Changes in Broiler Gastrointestinal Tract Microbiota

“…Health-promoting probiotic bacteria can ferment prebiotics which are undigestible and non-absorbable for the host and convert them to lactic acid and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. SCFA producing bacteria may directly enhance the absorption of some nutrients [61][62][63][64][65][66].…”