Journal des probiotiques et de la santé
Libre accès
ISSN: 2329-8901
ISSN: 2329-8901
Steven C. Ricke
Prebiotics include nondigestible carbohydrate dietary additives and other biological components that stimulate the growth of one or more types of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract that are beneficial to the host. These bacteria can inhibit colonization of pathogenic bacteria by producing antimicrobial substances and competing for niches within the gut. In this study, we evaluated the effects of Biolex® MB40 and Lieber® ExCel which are commercial prebiotics derived from brewer’s yeast cell walls. The two prebiotics were added to Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)- free chicken feeds with each group consisting of 1) control (no prebiotic), 2) Biolex® MB40 with 0.2% and 3) Leiber®
ExCel with 0.2%. Feeds were supplemented with the prebiotics during the 8 weeks of the entire experimental period. At 8 weeks, a total of 15 birds from each group were randomly selected for necropsy. The PCR-based Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-based DGGE) technique was utilized to compare microbial populations in control and treatment groups. Feeds supplemented with either Biolex® MB40 or Leiber® ExCel prebiotics exhibited more consistent microbial populations (i.e. relatedness) compared to the control group. For Biolex® MB40 supplemented group, all samples were clustered with over 74% of relatedness. The Leiber® ExCel supplemented group exhibited 77% relatedness among 4 samples with the exception of one outlier. According to sequencing results, Bacteriodes salanitronis were consistently detected in all groups, and Barnesiella ciscericola and Firmicutes were identified in
both treatment groups. In addition, the class 1 integron gene prevalence was evaluated and frequencies of 93.3% for the control, 73.3% for the Biolex® MB40 and 73.3% for the Leiber® ExCel treatment group of chickens were observed. Last, Campylobacter concentrations were significantly lower in both treatment groups compared to the control group.