Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Probiotic Containing Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, and Pediococcus Strains in Promoting Broiler Performance and Modulating Cecal Microflora Composition and Metabolic Activities

Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the efficacy of a new multibacterial species probiotic in broiler nutrition. The probiotic contained 2 Lactobacillus strains, 1 Bifidobacterium strain, 1 Enterococcus strain, and 1 Pediococcus strain. Four hundred 1-d-old male Cobb broilers were allocated in 4 experimental treatments for 6 wk. The experimental treatments received a corn-soybean basal diet and were as follows: "control," with no other additions; "probiotic in feed and water," (PFW) with probiotic administered at 1 g/kg of feed for the whole period and in water on scheduled intervals during the first 4 wk; "probiotic in feed," (PF) with probiotic in feed as in PFW; and "antibiotic," (AB) with addition of avilamycin at 2.5 mg/kg of feed. Salinomycin Na was used as a coccidiostat. Each treatment had 5 replicates of 20 broilers. Treatment effects on parameters of broiler performance and cecal microbial ecology were determined. Broiler BW, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were determined on a weekly and overall basis. Cecal microflora composition, concentration of volatile fatty acids, and activities of 5 bacterial glycolytic enzymes (alpha-galactosidase, beta-galactosidase, alpha-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, and beta-glucuronidase) were determined at the end of the experiment. Overall, treatment PFW displayed a growth-promoting effect that did not differ from AB. Overall, feed conversion ratio in treatment AB was significantly better (P < or = 0.01) than the control treatment, whereas treatments PFW and PF were intermediate and not different from AB. Concentrations of bacteria belonging to Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., and gram-positive cocci were significantly (P < or = 0.05) higher in treatments PFW and PF compared with the control and AB treatments. Treatments PFW and PF had significantly higher specific activities of alpha-galactosidase and beta-galactosidase compared with the control and AB treatments. In conclusion, probiotic treatment PFW displayed a growth-promoting effect that was comparable to avilamycin treatment. In addition, treatments PFW and PF modulated the composition and, to an extent, the activities of the cecal microflora, resulting in a significant probiotic effect.

Phytochemical uptake following human consumption of Montmorency tart cherry (L. Prunus cerasus) and influence of phenolic acids on vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro

“…Large inter-individual 317 variations in the plasma concentrations of all compounds in the current study are not unexpected because of the 318 multifaceted factors such as metabolism and genetic disposition to gut microbial composition [39].…”

Dairy Propionibacteria: Less Conventional Probiotics to Improve the Human and Animal Health

“…With this aim, different bacterial genera have been isolated from the intestine of farm animals and pets and employed as probiotics, such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus [146].…”

“…These formulas have shown to be effective for the protection against species of Salmonella and other avian pathogens; for immune system stimulation in newborn chicks, and also had growth promoting effects [159,160]. The most frequently assayed bacteria as avian probiotics were several species of lactic acid bacteria [146,159,160]. Propionibacteria have not been widely studied in this ecological niche.…”

The potential for probiotics to prevent reproductive tract lesions in free-range laying hens

“…In recent years, probiotics or direct-fed microbials have been proposed as a natural and useful choice for providing protection against enteric diseases, improved immunity and performance of broiler chicks and laying hens (Nahashon et al 1996;Balevi et al 2001;Willis and Reid 2008). It has been proposed that after oral administration, probiotics can change the bacterial community structure in the avian gastrointestinal tract (Mountzouris et al 2007;Willis and Reid 2008).…”