Effects of a synbiotic as an antibiotic alternative on behavior, production performance, cecal microbial ecology, and jejunal histomorphology of broiler chickens under heat stress

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine if synbiotics present similar efficiency to a common antibiotic used in poultry production under heat stress (HS) conditions. Two hundred and forty-one-day-old male Ross 708 broiler chicks were distributed among 3 treatments with 8 pens per treatment of 80 birds each for a 42-day trial. From day 15, birds were heat stressed (32°C for 9 h daily, HS) and fed the basal diet (CONT), the basal diet mixed with an antibiotic (Bactiracin Methylene Disalicylate) (0.05 g/kg of feed, BMD) or a synbiotic (0.5 g/kg of feed, SYN). The treatment effects on bird behavior, production performance, jejunal histomorphology, and cecal microbial ecology were examined. Behavioral observation was recorded by using instantaneous scan sampling technique. Production parameters were measured on day 14, 28, and 42. Cecal microbial populations of Escherichia coli and Lactobacilli and jejunal histomorphological parameters were measured at day 42. The results showed that, SYN birds exhibited more feeding and preening but less drinking and panting behaviors compared with both BMD and CONT birds (P < 0.05). The SYN birds also had higher body weight (BW) at both day 28 and 42 compared to CONT birds (P < 0.05). At the end of the experiment, the counts of Escherichia coli of SYN birds were at the similar levels of BMD but were lower than that of CONT birds (P < 0.05); while there were no treatment effects on the populations of Lactobacilli (P > 0.05). In addition, SYN birds had greater villus height compared with both CONT and BMD birds (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that the dietary synbiotic supplement has significant performance and welfare benefits, with the potential to be used as an alternative to antibiotics for poultry meat production, especially during hot seasons.

Influence of using synbiotics by various routes on Mandarah male chicks: intestinal bacterial counts, gut morphology and histological status

“…This enhancement could directly correlate with the beneficial impact on the gut bacterial community by establishing population balance and averting digestive infections that could harm the intestinal tissue. These outcomes were in concurrence with those of Taklimi et al (2012) , Hassanpoura et al (2013) , Jiang et al (2020) and Mohammed et al (2022) .…”

“…Several studies have demonstrated the potential benefits of using synbiotics instead of antibiotics in commercial broiler chickens ( Mohammed et al, 2022 ; Salem et al, 2023 ). Prebiotics, consisting of non-digestible oligosaccharides, can regulate or alter microbes’ makeup and/or function, helping preserve a healthy microbiota that inhibits the growth of pathogens via various regulatory mechanisms ( Ballini et al, 2023 ).…”

Alternative approaches to therapeutics and subtherapeutics for sustainable poultry production

“…In a study, researchers observed that the synbiotic (50 ppm of PoultryStar me US ) increased the antioxidant ability and thus lead to better poultry meat quality ( Hu et al, 2022 ). In another study, the same research team showed that use of the synbiotic led to better growth, behavior and jejunal histomorphology in broilers specifically in heat stress ( Mohammed et al, 2022 ).…”