Comparative effects of feeding single- and multi-strain probiotics to commercial layers on the productive performance and egg quality indices

Enhancing egg production and quality by the supplementation of probiotic strains (Clostridium and Brevibacillus) via improved amino acid digestibility, intestinal health, immune response, and antioxidant activity

“…Enhanced laying performance often reflects egg mass output and egg weight. Our findings revealed a significant improvement in egg weight and egg mass in response to dietary probiotics, and this is in line with previous reports that probiotics exerted a beneficial effect on egg weight ( Zhan et al, 2019 ; Wang Y. et al, 2021 ; Ray et al, 2022 ). The improvement suggests that probiotics are natural growth enhancers through efficient nutrient utilization.…”

“…This claim is supported by previous studies in laying hens, which demonstrated that probiotic-induced improvement in physiological indices, including immunity index, intestinal morphology, and antioxidant capacity culminated in significantly increased laying performance ( Deng et al, 2021 ; Wang Y. et al, 2021 ; Pan et al, 2022 ). However, some studies found no probiotic-induced effect on egg production ( Shi et al, 2020 ; Wang J. et al, 2021 ; Ray et al, 2022 ). The discrepancies may be due to the age of laying hens and probiotics composition and dosage.…”

“…In previous reports, probiotics including Clostridium butyricum ( Xiang et al, 2019 ; Wang W. W. et al, 2020 ; Wang Y. et al, 2021 ), Bacillus sp. ( Neijat et al, 2019 ; Yang et al, 2020 ; Pan et al, 2022 ), and combined probiotics strains ( Ray et al, 2022 ; Xu et al, 2022 ) enhanced feed efficiency in laying hens. Similarly, in this study, Clostridium butyricum improved feed utilization, and consequently, the enhanced feed efficiency was a boost to the production potential of the animal.…”

“…In previous reports, probiotics including Clostridium butyricum (Xiang et al, 2019;Wang W. W. et al, 2020;Wang Y. et al, 2021), Bacillus sp. (Neijat et al, 2019;Yang et al, 2020;Pan et al, 2022), and combined probiotics strains (Ray et al, 2022;Xu et al, 2022) improved feed utilization, and consequently, the enhanced feed efficiency was a boost to the production potential of the animal. The improvement in feed efficiency may be the capacity of probiotics to enhance gut morphology and health via increased villi height for better nutrient absorption (Wang W. W. et al, 2020;Pan et al, 2022) and the production of bacteriocins and volatile bacteriostatic substances, which can suppress pathogen invasion (Chen et al, 2007).…”

“…The underlying mechanism of probiotic actions, including the production of metabolites (short-chain organic fatty acids), immunostimulatory effects, alteration of gastrointestinal flora, and exclusive competitive binding to receptors ( Sherman et al, 2009 ; Ahasan et al, 2015 ), accounts for the myriad of its positive influence on animal production and health in the poultry industry. Probiotics have been found to enhance laying performance ( Mikulski et al, 2020 ; Macit et al, 2021 ; Xu et al, 2022 ), egg quality ( Deng et al, 2021 ; Wang J. et al, 2021 ; Ray et al, 2022 ), immune response ( Song et al, 2019 ; Deng et al, 2021 ; Pan et al, 2022 ), gut health ( Abdel-Latif et al, 2018 ; Yang et al, 2020 ), and reduced oxidative stress response ( Deng et al, 2021 ; Xu et al, 2022 ). Nevertheless, some studies reported that probiotics had no influence on egg production ( Arpášová et al, 2016 ; Shi et al, 2020 ), egg quality: albumen quality ( Souza et al, 2021 ) and eggshell quality ( Wang W. W. et al, 2020 ), and antioxidant capacity ( Forte et al, 2016 ).…”