The effect of inulin on broiler chicken intestinal microflora, gut morphology, and performance

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of inulin on the intestinal microflora, gut morphology, and performance of broiler chickens. After sex identification, 168 male Ross 308 broilers were randomly allotted to 3 treatment groups with 4 replicates and fed for 42 days. Experimental treatments including 0%, 0.5%, or 1% inulin were used. The experimental diets were formulated based on maize-soyabean meal. The results showed that livability and body weight gain were better for broilers fed diets supplemented with inulin, but livability did not vary significantly among groups and the control. Live body weight on d 42 was significantly increased when the diets were supplemented with 1% inulin. Feed intake and feed conversion ratio were not affected in birds fed diets with supplements in comparison with the control group. Inulin inclusion had no effect on Bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli and E. coli counts in ileal contents, but significantly increased Bifidobacteria counts and decreased E. coli counts in caecal contents. With the exception of significantly increased villus height in the ileum, the morphological measurements of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum showed no response to dietary levels of inulin as compared with the control diet.In conclusion, the results from the current study suggest that feeding inulin may have a beneficial effect on intestinal microflora and morphology, and on the performance of broiler chickens.

Blood metabolic profile of broiler chickens fed diets with different types and levels of inulin

“…In studies on farm animals, the addition of prebiotics was found to stimulate the performance of animals, stabilize the microbiome of the digestive tract, and improve animal health status (10,13,15,24,54). On the other hand, other authors did not find such an impact (4,11).…”

“…Biggs et al (5) proved that feeding a higher level (0.8%) of inulin and short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides depressed growth performance, the digestibility of amino acids, and metabolizable energy in birds. However, there are studies in which even a higher dose was supplemented (1%) (24). Moreover, as reported by Ten Bruggencate et al (44), the rapid fermentation of prebiotics leading to high concentrations of organic acids impaired the barrier function, which reduced the ability of rats to resist salmonella infection.…”

“…Supplementation of inulin or oligofructose to broilers was reported to result in significantly improved performance, particularly in female broilers, due to an increased absorptive capacity of the chicken gastrointestinal tract caused by the increased length of both the small intestine and the colon (26,55). Additionally, positive changes were observed in the intestinal microbiota biocenosis in broilers (24,32), although there are also some studies indicating no effect of inulin on the intestinal microbiome (4,5). Some studies on birds found a decrease in body fat deposition, abdominal fat, and serum cholesterol concentration (29,45,55), and a modified hepatic metabolism of lipids (29,45).…”

Effects of inulin and Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) as prebiotic ingredients in the diet of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

“…Instead, they are fermented in the large intestine or colon by beneficial bifidobacteria and other lactic acid producing bacteria, thereby enhancing their relative populations (Pool-Zobel et al, 2002;Roberfroid, 2002;Flickinger et al, 2003). Several dietary grades of inulin are available commercially, and their use as a dietary supplement in animal feed has been shown to enhance growth performance, modulate intestinal microbiota, and improve hematological and immune parameters in fish, poultry, and swine (He et al, 2002;Mahious et al, 2006a;Reza et al, 2009;Ibrahem et al, 2010;Mourino et al, 2012;Nabizadeh, 2012;Ortiz et al, 2013). Nevertheless, the use of inulin as a functional feed additive in the animal feed industry is limited by the cost of the inulin extraction process.…”

Efficacy of Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Synbiotics on Laying Hens and Broilers Challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis

“…For example, Bailey et al (1991) and Fukata et al (1999) reported that the inclusion of oligofructose in the chicks' diets enabled a substantial reduction of Salmonella colonization in the gastrointestinal tract. Nabizadeh (2012) showed that inulin supplementation caused no significant differences in the microfloral counts of the ileal contents but significantly increased the Bifidobacteria counts and decreased the E. coli counts of the cecal contents. Baurhoo et al (2007) a P/T 6/6 6/6 5/6 5/6 7 2 4/6 3/6 2/6 0/6 out that the mannanoligosaccharides act by blocking the sites of bacterial adhesion, thus reducing the binding capacity of some pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal mucosa.…”