Effects of probiotic, Clostridium butyricum, on growth performance, immune function, and cecal microflora in broiler chickens

Abstract

Four hundred and fifty 1-d-old male Lingnan Yellow broiler chickens were used to investigate the effects of Clostridium butyricum on growth performance, immune function, and cecal microflora. The birds were randomly assigned to 5 treatments and offered the same antibiotic-free basal diets for 42 d. The treatments were as follows: no addition (control), 1 × 10(7) cfu C. butyricum/kg of diet (CB1), 2 × 10(7) cfu C. butyricum/kg of diet (CB2), 3 × 10(7) cfu C. butyricum/kg of diet (CB3), and 10 mg of colistine sulfate/kg of diet (antibiotic). Birds fed either CB2 or antibiotic had greater overall BW than those in the control group. During d 1 to 7, d 21 to 42, and d 1 to 42, birds fed either CB2 or CB3 or the antibiotic diet had greater ADG compared with those in the control group. No significant differences were observed in BW or ADG among the CB2, CB3, and antibiotic groups. Birds fed the CB2 or CB3 diet had greater concentrations of IgA and IgG in the serum from d 14 to 42 and greater IgM in the serum from d 21 to 42 than those in the control group. Birds fed the CB3 diet had a greater concentration of complement component 3 in the serum than those in the control group from d 7 to 42. Dietary C. butyricum decreased (P < 0.05) Escherichia coli in cecal contents on d 14 and 42, and both CB2 and CB3 decreased (P < 0.05) cecal Salmonella and Clostridium perfringen from d 14 to 42 compared with the control. Broilers fed either CB2 or CB3 had greater cecal Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium counts from d 21 to 42, and birds fed C. butyricum had greater cecal C. butyricum counts during the whole period compared with those in the control group. The results indicate that C. butyricum promotes growth performance and immune function and benefits the balance of the intestinal microflora in broiler chickens.

Effect of Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium butyricum and Lactobacillus acidophilus endospores on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, meat quality, relative organ weight, microbial shedding and excreta noxious gas emission in broilers

“…found that BWG was increased by the administration of 10 5 and 10 8 CFU/kg of Bacillus-based probiotic. Yang et al (2012) found that adding 2 × 10 7 CFU or 3 × 10 7 CFU/kg of Clostridium butyricum to the diet improved the ADG in broiler chickens. Similar positive effects were also reported by other researchers (Talebi et al 2008;Zhou et al 2010).…”

Performance and Cecal Bacteria Counts of Broilers Fed Low Protein Diets With and Without a Combination of Probiotic and Prebiotic

“…Rearing condition, probiotic dosage, bird's age as well as the delivery method (water or feed) can also affect broilers performance and gut bacterial responses to this feed additive (Yang et al, 2009). Hence, it is difficult to compare the results of different studies (Yang et al, 2012). All above-mentioned factors probably can explain the contrasting results in the performance of broilers fed with probiotic and prebiotic.…”

“…Supplementation with probiotics and prebiotics can improve the performance of broiler chickens (Kim et al, 2011;Yang et al, 2012;Houshmand et al, 2012b;Salim et al, 2013;Bozkurt et al, 2014). Also, their positive effects on protein utilization have been indicated.…”

The Potential of Antibiotic Alternatives for Enriching Beneficial Microbiota in Litter

“…For example, Clostridium butyricum has been shown effective as a poultry probiotic [48]. In addition, other butyrate producing bacteria such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzi, Roseburia faecis, and others may be associated with an healthy intestinal tract due the beneficial properties of this short chain fatty acid [49,50].…”