Fermented wheat bran by xylanase-producing Bacillus cereus boosts the intestinal microflora of broiler chickens

Abstract

Wheat bran, while a nutritious and economic feed ingredient, contents high levels of non-starch polysaccharides which entraps nutrients and interferes digestion and absorption. To study the influence of fermented wheat bran by xylanase-producing Bacillus cereus on growth performance and intestinal microflora of broiler chickens, a total of 180 broilers (21-day-old, mixed of male and female) were randomly divided into 3 treatments, with 6 replicates in each treatment and 10 broilers in each replicate: 1) control check ( CK ), corn-soybean meal-based diet; 2) wheat bran group ( WB ), 5% of the corn were replaced with wheat bran; and 3) fermented wheat bran group ( FWB ), 5% of the corn were replaced with fermented wheat bran. Growth performance was determined in the period of 21- to 42-day-old. Intestinal digestive enzyme activities and microbiota diversity were analyzed on day 42. No differences were observed on growth performance among treatments ( P > 0.05). The activity of amylase in the duodenum of FWB was 1.56 times higher than CK ( P < 0.05). The Chao1 index of microbiota in cecum of FWB increased 24.26% compared with CK ( P < 0.01). The amount of Bifidobacteriaceae in cecum of WB was 29.1 times and 15.8 times higher than CK and FWB ( P < 0.05) respectively. Principal co-ordinates analysis in cecum revealed the dissimilarity microbiota among treatments. In summary, the use of fermented wheat bran to partially replace corn (5%) in diets had no adverse effect on growth performance and triggered beneficial effects such as increasing duodenal amylase activity and intestinal microflora abundance in broiler chickens. These observations support that solid-state fermentation by xylanase-producing Bacillus cereus is feasible approach to pre-treat wheat bran for feedstuff industry.

Effects of Wheat Bran and Clostridium butyricum Supplementation on Cecal Microbiota, Short-Chain Fatty Acid Concentration, pH and Histomorphometry in Broiler Chickens

“…It is known from previous in vitro studies [44] and in vivo [14] chicken experiments that wheat bran has a bifidogenic effect. In contrast to our trial, both of these studies were based on control microbiota dominated by Firmicutes phylum rather than Bacteroidetes.…”

“…Clostridium butyricum seems to be a promising probiotic to provide protection against intestinal infections [11], and some reports show beneficial effects of C. butyricum strains on growth performance, lipid metabolism, immune function and culturable microbiota [12,13]. Although wheat bran and C. butyricum supplementations have been investigated from various aspects in broilers at slaughter age, little information is available on the effects of wheat bran using culture-independent methods [5,[14][15][16]. The information concerning C. butyricum is limited only to culturable microbiota in broiler chickens.…”

The Impact of Wheat Bran on the Morphology and Physiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract in Broiler Chickens

“…Wheat bran (WB), a byproduct of the milling process, is rich in insoluble fiber, consisting mainly arabinoxylans and, to a lesser extent, cellulose and β-glucans [ 8 ]. Previous studies have mostly focused on how to eliminate the anti-nutritional effects of a high level of WB [ 9 ]. However, with the development of research and exploration, the WB has been shown to be involved in the regulation of gastrointestinal physiology such as gastric emptying time and intestinal transit rate, which may consequently influence digestive function [ 10 ].…”

Comparison of Chicken Cecal Microbiota after Metaphylactic Treatment or Following Administration of Feed Additives in a Broiler Farm with Enterococcal Spondylitis History

“…Even if the treatment with lincospectin seemed to retard microbiota development in the present study, the abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae was significantly enriched in lincospectin-treated chickens compared to chickens that had received one of the other feed additives at day 11. Bifidobacteriaceae play an important role in pathogen exclusion and intestinal barrier function, with most of the evidence coming from mammalian studies [ 36 ], while in chickens the role of Bifidobacterium has not yet been fully elucidated and the benefit of cecum Bifidobacteriaceae colonization in chickens needs to be further clarified [ 49 , 50 ]. Bifidobacterium species are not numerically dominant in chickens [ 42 , 49 ], but are used as probiotics mainly in humans but also in chickens [ 51 ].…”