Buffered formic acid and a monoglyceride blend coordinately alleviate subclinical necrotic enteritis impact in broiler chickens

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of 2 different doses of a partially buffered formic acid product (Amasil NA; 61% formic acid, 20.5% sodium formate), and a monoglyceride blend of short- and medium-chain fatty acids (BalanGut LS P) on necrotic enteritis ( NE ) infected broilers in terms of performance, intestinal microbial population and short-chain fatty acids concentrations in the gastrointestinal tract. A total of 528-day-old as hatched Ross 308 broilers were allocated to 48 pens with 11 birds in each pen. Six dietary treatments applied in the study were: T1) nonsupplemented diet (Control); T2) antibiotic supplemented diets; T3) and T4) high (Starter: 0.5%; Grower and Finisher: 0.5%) and low (Starter: 0.3%; Grower and Finisher: 0.2%) dose of Amasil NA; and groups T5) and T6) high (Starter: 0.3%; Grower and Finisher: 0.2%) and low dose (Starter: 0.3%; Grower: 0.15%; Finisher: 0.075%) of (BalanGut LS P). All birds in this study were fed starter (d 0-10), grower (d 11–24) and finisher (d 25–35) diets and challenged with NE. To induce subclinical NE, oral administrations of Eimeria oocysts (d 9) followed by inoculation of Clostridium perfringens strains (d 14 and 15) were applied. Results showed that birds fed the high dose of Amasil NA, had a higher feed conversion ratio ( FCR, P < 0.05) compared to the nonsupplemented group during the starter period. Antibiotic supplementation reduced FCR during the grower ( P < 0.001), finisher ( P < 0.05) and overall ( P < 0.001) periods of the experiment. Both levels of BalanGut LS P and low levels of Amasil NA enhanced overall FCR ( P < 0.05) compared to the birds in the nonsupplemented group. Compared to the nonsupplemented group, high levels of Amasil NA and low levels of BalanGut LS P improved FCR in the finisher stage ( P < 0.05). On d 16, cecum digesta of birds fed with antibiotic supplemented diets showed a significantly lower number of C. perfringens ( P < 0.001) compared to the nonsupplemented and high level of BalanGut LS P group. Bacillus ( P < 0.01) and Ruminococcus numbers were significantly lower in the birds fed with high level of Amasil NA ( P < 0.05) compared to the antibiotic supplemented diets. High doses of Amasil NA, showed the highest propionate concentration in the cecum ( P < 0.001). The study suggests that supplementation of BalanGut LS P and Amasil NA at different feeding phases may achieve optimal performance improvement in broilers under NE challenge.

Monoglyceride Blend Reduces Mortality, Improves Nutrient Digestibility, and Intestinal Health in Broilers Subjected to Clinical Necrotic Enteritis Challenge

“…However, the results observed in this study also revealed that the dietary addition of FA in grower and finisher phases did not have positive impacts on performance and intestinal health over the diet supplemented with MG only in the starter phase as indicated by similar BWG, FCR, intestinal lesions, apparent ileal digestibility, bacterial quantification, and gene expression results in birds fed both additive supplemented diets under the present conditions. Similar to our results, a recent study reported that birds supplemented with FA (high dose) had no effects on performance and mortality in birds under sub-clinical NE challenge [18]. Cumulatively, the findings of this study indicated the beneficial effects of additive MG in reducing the severity of clinical NE on intestinal health, evidenced by improved immunity, gut integrity, digestibility, and reduced mortality.…”

“…Due to the nature of clinical NE present in the current study, the NC group had much higher mortality and thus the entire experimental period showed mostly the performance of survived birds, whose performance was quickly recovered, thus less performance effects of OA were detectable following the recovery. Similar to our results, birds fed blended OA had no effects on BWG but improved FCR under a clinical NE challenge [46] and subclinical NE challenge condition [18]. Moreover, Geier et al [46] also reported the high mortality in OA-fed birds and not inconsistent from the control group, which is inconsistent with our findings.…”

“…Previous studies have shown that the diet supplemented with butyric acid or its glyceride derivatives could replace antibiotics and maintain optimal bird performance [12,16] and reduce Salmonella enteritidis caused infection [17]. A recent study has shown that birds fed different dosages of butyric acid glycerides significantly improved overall FCR under subclinical NE challenge [18]. However, other studies have reported inconsistent growth performance results in birds supplemented with butyric acid glycerides alone or in combination with tributyrin, and a combination of mono-and di-glyceride products [19,20].…”

“…Moreover, a recent study reported that the birds fed a monoglyceride blend (MG) at a high dose had improved FCR compared to the challenged control group in the grower phase, but the low dose did not [18]. Buffered formic acid (FA) at a high dose improved FCR in the finisher phase, but had no effect in the starter and grower phases.…”

“…Birds fed MG at a low dose had improved FCR compared to the birds fed FA at a high dose in the starter phase. Therefore, this study was to investigate whether the supplementation of MG and FA at appropriate doses in different feeding phases may help to achieve optimal bird performance under diseased conditions [18]. It was hypothesized that (a) the supplementation of MG at a high dose in the starter phase improves performance and protects birds from NE in the later phases; and (b) FA supplementation in grower and finisher phases provides additional benefits to improve performance and protect the intestinal health of birds from the negative effects of NE.…”