The effects of feeding yeast bioactives to broiler breeders and/or their offspring on growth performance, gut development, and immune function in broiler chickens challenged with Eimeria

Abstract

Yeast bioactives (YB) may stimulate broiler breeders (BB) to increase deposition of immunoglobulins (Ig) in eggs. We investigated the effects of feeding YB (mixture of derivatives from whole yeast subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis) to BB and/or their offspring on growth performance, gut development, and immune function in broiler chickens challenged with Eimeria. The BB (Ross 708 ♀ and Ross ♂) were assigned to 2 groups (60 ♀ and 10 ♂) and fed basal or basal diet supplemented with 500 g of YB/Mt. A total of 250 fertile eggs per treatment were collected, incubated, hatched, and sexed. Additional egg samples were analyzed for IgA and IgY contents. A total of 160 broiler chicks (80 ♀ and 80 ♂) from each breeder experimental group were placed in cages based on sex and BW resulting in 32 cages for each BB treatment group. Cages (16 per BB treatment group) were allocated to basal broiler chick diet or basal diet supplemented with 500 g of YB/Mt. On day 9, half of each BB by broiler chick dietary treatments was challenged with 1 mL of Eimeria culture (100,000 oocysts of Eimeria acervulina and 25,000 oocysts of Eimeria maxima). On day 14, all birds were necropsied for intestinal lesion scores and samples. Feeding YB to BB increased (P < 0.05) IgA concentration in egg yolk. Eimeria challenge decreased (P < 0.05) pancreas weight, jejunal villus height (VH), and growth performance but increased spleen weight, intestinal mass and jejunal mucosa IgA concentration. Independent of Eimeria challenge, feeding YB to BB and/or to chicks resulted in higher (P < 0.001) jejunal VH compared with feeding it to BB only or not at all. In conclusion, Eimeria challenge reduced growth performance and had negative effects on indices of intestinal function and health. Feeding YB to BB increased deposition of IgA in hatching eggs and improved jejunal VH independent of Eimeria challenge when fed to BB and/or to broiler chicks.

Utility of Feed Enzymes and Yeast Derivatives in Ameliorating Deleterious Effects of Coccidiosis on Intestinal Health and Function in Broiler Chickens

“…Thus, although E. acervulina and E. maxima challenge reduced jejunal mucosa IgA by 33% at 5 days post-challenge, the concentration was increased by 16% at 25 days post-challenge (86). A further study indicated that E. acervulina and E. maxima challenge increased jejunal IgA by 64% at 5 days post-challenge (149). Although specific mechanisms of action intestinal IgA on coccidial infections are still subject of investigations, it has been speculated that IgA reduces development of sporozoites or merozoites and prevent host cell invasion (150,151).…”

“…These antibodies were highly protective, mediating up to a 97% reduction in oocyst shedding in challenged hatchlings. We recently showed that feeding broiler breeders yeast product rich in enzyme hydrolyzed cell wall components increased deposition of IgA in the hatching egg yolks (149). The data further indicated that feeding hydrolyzed yeast cell wall to broiler breeders and to the chicks improved jejunal histomorphology independent of Eimeria challenge (149).…”

Yeast Culture Improves Egg Quality and Reproductive Performance of Aged Breeder Layers by Regulating Gut Microbes

“…Moreover, YC also contains a large amount of trace elements, such as selenium and zinc that improve embryonic and early postnatal development of the aged layer (Hostetler et al, 2003;Sun et al, 2012). A previous study has shown that adding yeast bioactives significantly improves the level of IgA in the egg yolk (Lu et al, 2019), resulting in enhanced chick immunity and improved reproductive performance of the aged layers. Hens in the late laying stage are considered to be affected by oxidative stress and ovarian aging; furthermore, an increase in lipid and protein oxidation substantially influences the normal physiology of layers (Liu et al, 2018).…”

“…The addition of YC at 2.5 g/kg activates macrophages, thereby increasing lysozyme content in the serum of laying hens, thus contributing to their resistance of pathogenic bacteria and enhancing their immunity (Gao et al, 2008). Further, studies have also reported that this immunity induced by YC is passed on to offspring and reduces symptoms of coccidiosis infection (Lu et al, 2019;Sun and Kim, 2019). In addition, some previous studies have shown that YC administration positively affects poultry laying performance and intestinal health (Zhang J.C. et al, 2020).…”

“…Another study in broilers showed that dietary YC supplementation at 0.1 g/kg increases daily weight gain and reduces Campylobacter in the cecum ( Froebel et al, 2019 ). In addition, yeast bioactive substances can alleviate the negative effects of Eimeria infection on the growth of poultry, improving the structure of the jejunum mucosa and increasing the content of IgA in the egg yolk ( Lu et al, 2019 ). The addition of YC at 2.5 g/kg activates macrophages, thereby increasing lysozyme content in the serum of laying hens, thus contributing to their resistance of pathogenic bacteria and enhancing their immunity ( Gao et al, 2008 ).…”