Abstract
The ban or severe restriction on the use of antibiotics in poultry feeds to promote growth has led to considerable interest to find alternative approaches. Probiotics have been considered as such alternatives. In the present study, the effects of a Lactobacillus mixture composed from three previously isolated Lactobacillus salivarius strains (CI1, CI2 and CI3) from chicken intestines on performance, intestinal health status and serum lipids of broiler chickens has been evaluated. Supplementation of the mixture at a concentration of 0.5 or 1 g kg-1 of diet to broilers for 42 days improved body weight, body weight gain and FCR, reduced total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, increased populations of beneficial bacteria such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, decreased harmful bacteria such as E. coli and total aerobes, reduced harmful cecal bacterial enzymes such as β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase, and improved intestinal histomorphology of broilers. Because of its remarkable efficacy on broiler chickens, the L. salivarius mixture could be considered as a good potential probiotic for chickens, and its benefits should be further evaluated on a commercial scale.
Highlights
The use of probiotics as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters has attracted considerable interest due to its beneficial impacts on the health, performance and productivity of chickens [1,2,3,4,5]
Effects of a Lactobacillus mixture on broilers establish in the chicken intestine within a day after hatching [8], so they are considered to be normal bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of chickens [9]
Mortality was observed in the control and broilers supplemented with 0.5 g kg-1 LC, but there was no mortality in broilers fed 1 g kg-1 LC
Summary
The use of probiotics as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters has attracted considerable interest due to its beneficial impacts on the health, performance and productivity of chickens [1,2,3,4,5]. Probiotics or direct-fed microbials are ‘live microbial supplements which beneficially affect the health of the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance’ [6]. Effects of a Lactobacillus mixture on broilers establish in the chicken intestine within a day after hatching [8], so they are considered to be normal bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of chickens [9]. Bacterial strains used as probiotics for animals should be isolated from the natural GIT microflora of the same type of animal in order to have more specific application [9]
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