Effects of Clostridium butyricum, Sodium Butyrate, and Butyric Acid Glycerides on the Reproductive Performance, Egg Quality, Intestinal Health, and Offspring Performance of Yellow-Feathered Breeder Hens.

Yang Wang,Zhongyong Gou,Qiuli Fan,Xiajing Lin,Shouqun Jiang,Yibing Wang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.657542

Yang Wang, Zhongyong Gou + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.657542

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Abstract

Butyrate has been reported to promote the performance and growth of chickens. The specific roles and efficacy of different sources of butyrate remained unclear. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate and compare the effects of Clostridium butyricum (CB), sodium butyrate (SB), and butyric acid glycerides (tributyrin, BAG) on the reproductive performance, egg quality, intestinal health, and offspring performance of yellow-feathered breeder hens. A total of 300 Lingnan yellow-feathered breeder hens were assigned to five treatment groups: control (CL), 1×108CFU/kg CB (CBL), 1×109CFU/kg CB (CBH), 500mg/kg SB, and 300mg/kg BAG. Results showed that the laying performance and egg quality were increased by CBL, CBH, and BAG. Both CB treatments increased the hatchability of fertilized eggs. Maternal supplementation with both levels of CB significantly elevated the growth performance of offspring. Treatment with CBL, CBH, SB, and BAG all improved the oviduct-related variables and reduced the plasmal antioxidant variables. The CBH, CBL, and BAG treatments also improved the intestinal morphology to different degrees. Jejunal contents of IL-6 were decreased by CBH and BAG, while those of IL-4, IL-6, IL-1β, and IgY were decreased by SB. Transcripts of nutrient transporters in jejunal mucosa were also upregulated by CBH, CBL, and SB treatments and expression of Bcl-2-associated X protein was decreased by CBL, CBH, and BAG. In cecal contents, CBL increased the abundance of Firmicutes and Bacillus, while CBH decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria. Also, the co-occurrence networks of intestinal microbes were regulated by CBH and BAG. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of CB and BAG improved the reproductive parameters, egg quality, and intestinal morphology of breeders. CB also influenced the hatching performance of breeders and growth performance of the offspring, while SB improved the oviduct-related variables. These beneficial effects may result from the regulation of cytokines, nutrient transporters, apoptosis, and gut microbiota; high-level CB had more obvious impact. Further study is needed to explore and understand the correlation between the altered gut microbiota induced by butyrate and the performance, egg quality, intestinal health, and also offspring performance.

Highlights

Butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA), is a main end-product of intestinal microbial fermentation of dietary fiber (Xiao et al, 2020)
Increased (p < 0.05) albumen height and eggshell thickness were noted for the CBH treatment and CBL increased the albumen height (p < 0.05; Table 3)
The present results suggested that CBL increased the presence of Bacillaceae, though abundance of Clostridium was unaffected by Clostridium butyricum (CB), sodium butyrate (SB), and Butyric acid glycerides (BAG) treatments

Summary

Introduction

A short-chain fatty acid (SCFA), is a main end-product of intestinal microbial fermentation of dietary fiber (Xiao et al, 2020). Previous studies in chickens suggested that CB promoted growth performance (Zhang et al, 2011; Yang et al, 2012), improved intestinal morphology (Zhang et al, 2011), altered intestinal microbiota (Meimandipour et al, 2010; Yang et al, 2012), and ameliorated inflammation (Zhang et al, 2016; Takahashi et al, 2018). Previous research indicated that BAG effectively improved the growth performance and lipid metabolism of broilers (Taherpour et al, 2009). In the study of Jahanian and Golshadi (2015), the productive performance of laying hens was found to be enhanced by BAG

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