Beneficial Effect of β-Mannanase Feed Enzyme on Performance of Chicks Challenged with Eimeria sp. and Clostridium perfringens

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of a beta-mannanase feed enzyme on the performance of broiler chicks subject to a necrotic enteritis disease challenge model involving oral inoculation of Eimeria sp. and Clostridium pefringens. Beta-mannanase is known to improve productive performance when added to poultry and swine diets. In both experiments, disease challenge in the absence of feed additives demonstrated significant reductions in performance as measured by weight gain, feed conversion, and the incidence of coccidial lesion scores. Significant mortality was also observed in challenged groups in Experiment 1. The disease challenge model was therefore judged as highly effective. Additions of a commonly used antibiotic, bacitracin methylene disalicilate (BMD), and coccidiostat, salinomycin, were highly effective in partially counteracting negative effects of the disease challenge. In both experiments, addition of beta-mannanase significantly improved performance and reduced lesion scores in disease-challenged groups. The degree of improvement was somewhat less than that afforded by a combination of BMD and salinomycin in Experiment 1 but was not different from that afforded by BMD alone in Experiment 2. We conclude that the beta-mannanase enzyme can play a role in circumstances where the use of antibiotics is not desired.

Effects of mannan level and β-mannanase supplementation on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility and blood metabolites of growing pigs

“…They are able to encompass the nutrients in their complicate structure and suppress their absorption in gastrointestinal tract because of their viscous nature. In addition, β-mannan also stimulates innate immunity, potentially leading to unnecessary energy expenditure and Kim, Ingale, Hosseindoust, Lee, Lee and Chae less efficient nutrient utilization (Jackson et al, 2003). The lack of an effect on ADFI of β-mannanase in the present experiments is in agreement with previous experiments (Jacela et al, 2010;Yoon et al, 2010).…”

Clostridium perfringensin poultry: an emerging threat for animal and public health

“…Since the minimal requirements for growth of C. perfringens include more than 11 amino acids, besides many growth factors and vitamins (Boyd et al, 1948;Petit et al, 1999), leaking of plasma to the intestinal lumen can provide a necessary growth substrate for extensive proliferation of these bacteria. Especially Eimeria species that colonize the small intestine, such as Eimeria maxima and Eimeria acervulina, are known to predispose to necrotic enteritis (Al-Sheikly & Al-Saieg, 1979;Hofacre et al, 1998Hofacre et al, , 2003Jackson et al, 2003). When broiler chickens were orally inoculated with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria necatrix or Eimeria acervulina at about 2 weeks of age and fed C. perfringens-contaminated feed, the percentage of mortality was 28% and 53%, respectively.…”

“…Also in the field, coccidial pathogens are mostly found in outbreaks of necrotic enteritis (Helmboldt & Bryant, 1971;Long et al, 1974;Broussard et al, 1986). It is documented in numerous studies that coccidial vaccines and coccidiostatic drugs are able to prevent C. perfringens-associated necrotic enteritis (Vissienon et al, 2000;Engberg et al, 2000;Jackson et al, 2003;Williams et al, 2003). Removal of coccidiostats from poultry feed is therefore also a predisposing factor for the development of necrotic enteritis (Elwinger et al, 1992).…”

“…Avoparcin reduced the numbers of C. perfringens in the intestinal tract of broilers and prevented necrotic enteritis in broilers, challenged with C. perfringens type A (Prescott, 1979;Elwinger et al, 1998). Although many C. perfringens poultry isolates appear to be resistant against bacitracin (Kondo, 1988;Devriese et al, 1993;Watkins et al, 1997), inclusion of this agent in broiler feed reduced intestinal C. perfringens counts, the number of gut lesions, lesion scores and mortality caused by necrotic enteritis in challenge experiments and field trials (Prescott, 1979;Stutz et al, 1983;Stutz & Lawton, 1984;Broussard et al, 1986;Engberg et al, 2000;Lovland et al, 2003;Brennan et al, 2003;Jackson et al, 2003). Also multiple studies showed that tylosin (Stutz & Lawton, 1984;Vissiennon et al, 2000;Brennan et al, 2001;Collier et al, 2003) and virginiamycin (George et al, 1982;Stutz & Lawton, 1984) inclusion in broiler feed reduced the occurrence of and mortality due to necrotic enteritis, and the intestinal counts of C. perfringens.…”

“…Elwinger et al (1998) have shown that monensin (and the ionophores narasin and maduramycin) have anti-bacterial effects against C. perfringens in the intestinal tract of broilers. Salinomycin reduces the counts of C. perfringens in the intestinal tract of broilers and decreases the severity of lesions due to necrotic enteritis in a challenge model (Engberg et al, 2000;Jackson et al, 2003). Monensin, and also the ionophorous anticoccidial narasin, decreases mortality in chickens, intraduodenally infected with C. perfringens, by more than 20% (Vissienon et al, 2000).…”