Supplementation of coated butyric acid in the feed reduces colonization and shedding of Salmonella in poultry

Abstract

Short-chain fatty acids have been widely used as feed additives to control Salmonella in poultry. Data on the use of butyric acid in poultry are lacking. In this study, powder form and coated butyric acid were compared in their ability to reduce Salmonella colonization of ceca and internal organs shortly after infection of young chickens with Salmonella enteritidis. In the first trial, 4 groups of 25 specific pathogen free layer chickens were given feed either supplemented with powder form butyric acid, coated butyric acid, a combination of powder form and coated butyric acid (all groups received a total of 0.63 g of butyric acid/kg) or nonsupplemented feed. The specific pathogen free layer chickens were orally infected with 10(6) cfu of S. enteritidis. Coated butyric acid significantly decreased cecal colonization 3 d post-infection compared with control chickens, and powder form butyric acid had no effect. To study long-term shedding and colonization of Salmonella in broilers given coated butyric acid as feed additive (0.63 g of active product butyric acid/kg), 10 Ross broiler chickens were infected at d 5 with 10(5) cfu of S. enteritidis and housed together with 40 noninfected broilers. A control group received nonsupplemented feed. The group of broilers receiving coated butyric acid had a significantly lower number of broilers shedding Salmonella bacteria, but cecal colonization at slaughter age was equal for both groups. In conclusion, butyric acid decreases cecal colonization shortly after infection, decreases fecal shedding, and as a consequence, decreases environmental contamination by S. enteritidis-infected broilers. However, complete elimination can probably only be achieved with a combined approach using both hygienic measures and different protection measures, as the broilers still carried S. enteritidis bacteria in the ceca at slaughter age, although at enrichment level.

Sodium butyrate in chicken nutrition: the dynamics of performance, gut microbiota, gut morphology, and immunity

“…in S. enteritidis challenged chickens. Similar findings were reported in response to oral supplementation of sodium butyrate or butyric acid that reduced the colonisation and shedding of S. enteritidis in broilers (Van Immerseel et al, 2005;Fernandez-Rubio et al, 2009). These findings may have arisen either due to the direct antibacterial activity of butyric acid (Van Immerseel et al, 2003) or due to the decreased invasiveness of Salmonella spp.…”

Effects of organic acids on the gut ecosystem and on the performance of broiler chickens

“…The same authors compared the efficacy of uncoated and coated butyric acid in controlling Salmonella colonization early after oral inoculation of SpF layer chickens with Salmonella enteritidis. Coated butyric acid significantly decreased caecal colonization 3 days after the oral challenge, while the powder form of butyric acid had no effect (van Immerseel et al, 2005). These results are in agreement with those of Fernandezrubio et al (2009), who compared unprotected sodium butyrate and partially protected sodium butyrate for their efficacy against S. enteritidis.…”

Regulation of virulence by butyrate sensing in enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli

“…Therefore, probiotics and prebiotics that target the colon alter the environment by enhancing the production of SCFAs, especially butyrate (Wong et al, 2006). Such manipulation of the SCFA levels through diet is a potentially useful approach to preventing intestinal colonization by pathogens (Van Immerseel et al, 2005).…”