Effects of dietary Clostridium butyricum and fructooligosaccharides, alone or in combination, on performance, egg quality, amino acid digestibility, jejunal morphology, immune function, and antioxidant capacity of laying hens

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Clostridium butyricum (CB) and fructooligosaccharide (FOS) singly or combined, on performance, egg quality, amino acid digestibility, jejunal morphology, immune function and antioxidant capacity in peak-phase laying hens. A total of 288 Hy-Line Brown laying hens (30 weeks of age) were randomly assigned to 4 dietary groups that included basal diet, basal diet +0.02% of CB (zlc-17: 1 × 109 CFU/g) (PRO), basal diet +0.6% FOS (PRE), and basal diet +0.02% CB + 0.6% FOS (SYN) for 12 weeks. Each treatment had 6 replicates with 12 birds each. The results demonstrated that probiotics (PRO), prebiotics (PRE) and synbiotics (SYN) (p ≤ 0.05), respectively, exerted a positive effect on the performance and physiological response of the birds. There were significant increases in egg production rate, egg weight, egg mass, daily feed intake and reduced number of damaged eggs. and zero mortality rate due to dietary PRO, PRE and SYN (p ≤ 0.05) respectively. Also, feed conversion was improved by PRO (p ≤ 0.05). In addition, egg quality assessment showed that; eggshell quality was increased by PRO (p ≤ 0.05) and albumen indices (Haugh unit, thick albumen content, and albumen height) were enhanced by PRO, PRE and SYN (p ≤ 0.05). Further analysis showed that PRO, PRE and SYN (p ≤ 0.05), reduced heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, increased antioxidant enzymes and immunoglobulin concentration. Although spleen index was higher for PRO (p ≤ 0.05) group. The significant increase in villi height, villi width, villi height to crypt depth ratio and reduced crypt depth were obvious for PRO, PRE, and SYN (p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, improved nutrient absorption and retention evidenced by increased digestibility of crude protein and amino acids, were notable for PRO, PRE, and SYN (p ≤ 0.05) group. Collectively, our findings revealed that dietary CB and FOS alone, or combined, enhanced productive performance, egg quality, amino acid digestibility, jejunal morphology, and physiological response in peak-phase laying hens. Our results would provide direction on nutritional strategies for gut enhancers and better physiological response of peak laying hens.

Influence of using synbiotics by various routes on Mandarah male chicks: intestinal bacterial counts, gut morphology and histological status

“…Administration of probiotic bacteria may have colonized the intestine, successfully shielding the villi from venoms and harmful bacteria, which could account for improving intestinal morphometry ( Song et al, 2014 ; Šefcová et al, 2023 ). Probiotics may also improve nutritional absorption, gut protection factor expression, and the competitive elimination of pathogenic bacteria ( Obianwuna et al, 2023 ), additionally strengthen the cytoskeleton of epithelial cells and tight connections, which further enhances villus protection ( Song et al, 2014 ; Li et al, 2024 ).…”

“…One of their functions is the ability of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics to alter the morphology of the gastrointestinal tract, for example, by increasing the length and depth of the crypt in broiler chickens. ( Obianwuna et al, 2023 ). The impacts of synbiotics, which are made up of prebiotics (xylo-oligosaccharide and mannan-oligosaccharide) and probiotics ( Bacillus subtilis ) on intestinal morphology were investigated by Min et al (2016) .…”

Effects of Clostridium butyricum on Production Performance and Bone Development of Laying Hens

“…Wang's re-search found that 1 × 10 8 CFU/kg CB can increase the egg production rate and albumen height of 45-week-old Lingnan yellow-feathered breeder hens [17]. Obianwuna's research found that 2 × 10 8 CFU/kg CB can increase the average egg weight, shell thickness, shell strength, yolk color, albumen height, and Haugh units of 30-week-old Hy-line Brown laying hens [18]. Khogali's research found that supplementing 1 × 10 8 CFU/kg CB increased the egg production rate and average egg weight of 64-week-old Hy-line Brown laying hens [19].…”

Probiotic Roles of Clostridium butyricum in Piglets: Considering Aspects of Intestinal Barrier Function

“…Clostridium butyricum, a new bioviable bacterial preparation, can activate the immune system of the host and enhance immune function, thereby maintaining animal health [75][76][77]. In piglets, C. butyricum can directly stimulate the intestinal mucosal immune response and improve immune barrier function [48,51].…”