Abstract
BackgroundThe poultry industry is in need of effective antibiotic alternatives to control outbreaks of necrotic enteritis (NE) due to Clostridium perfringens. In the present study, we investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with a blend of encapsulated essential oils and organic acids (BLJ) on growth performance and gut health using a coinfection model of NE in broiler chickens.MethodsTwo hundred and eighty-eight one-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly assigned using a 2 × 2 factorial design into two groups fed either 0 or 500 mg/kg dietary BLJ and co-challenged (or not challenged for the control) with Eimeria spp./C. perfringens.ResultsInfected birds fed the BLJ-supplemented diet exhibited an improved feed conversion ratio throughout the trial (P < 0.01), a higher villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio, and reduced intestinal C. perfringens counts, liver C. perfringens carriage, gut lesion scores and serum fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-D) concentrations at 7 d post-infection compared with those of birds without BLJ supplementation (P < 0.05). NE-infected birds fed BLJ exhibited significantly upregulated claudin-1 and IGF-2 mRNA levels (P < 0.05), increased A20 mRNA expression and significantly downregulated TRAF-6, TNFSF15 and TOLLIP mRNA levels in the jejunum at 7 d post-infection compared with those in birds without BLJ supplementation (P < 0.05). Compared with the uninfected and untreated birds, the uninfected birds fed BLJ displayed increased relative abundances of Lactobacillus and Coprococcus but reduced Rikenellaceae levels. Compared with the unsupplemented NE-challenged birds, infected birds fed BLJ showed an increased relative abundance of Unclassified_Lachnospiraceae and a significantly decreased relative abundance of Erysipelotrichaceae.ConclusionBLJ supplementation improved growth performance and gut health in NE-infected broiler chickens by strengthening the intestinal barrier function, positively modulating the gut microbiota community and differentially regulating intestinal immune responses. Our results also suggested that adding BLJ effectively controlled NE infections after experimental Eimeria and Clostridium perfringens coinfection.
Highlights
The poultry industry is in need of effective antibiotic alternatives to control outbreaks of necrotic enteritis (NE) due to Clostridium perfringens
The ban on using antibiotic growth promoters in poultry feed owing to growing concern about antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the transfer of antibiotic residues in meat and eggs has led to the frequent occurrence of enteric disorders, such as NE [2]
In the present study, NE challenge decreased the body weight gain (BWG) and average feed intake (AFI) and increased the feed/gain ratio in chicks fed a basal diet during the infection period, which is consistent with the results reported by Song et al [28] and Wu et al [37]
Summary
The poultry industry is in need of effective antibiotic alternatives to control outbreaks of necrotic enteritis (NE) due to Clostridium perfringens. The ban on using antibiotic growth promoters in poultry feed owing to growing concern about antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the transfer of antibiotic residues in meat and eggs has led to the frequent occurrence of enteric disorders, such as NE [2]. This ban and its consequences have shifted the research focus to exploring effective alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters that can help cost-effectively ameliorate enteric disorders. EOs are receiving increasing attention as potential antibiotic growth promotor alternatives in animal production
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