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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #233515
Title: Effect of bismuth citrate, lactose, and organic acid on necrotic enteritis in broilers

Author
item STRINGFELLOW, KENDRE - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item McReynolds, Jackson
item LEE, JASON - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item Byrd Ii, James - Allen
item Nisbet, David
item FARNELL, MORGAN - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/29/2009
Publication Date: 10/23/2009
Citation: Stringfellow, K., McReynolds, J.L., Lee, J., Byrd II, J.A., Nisbet, D.J., Farnell, M.B. 2009. Effect of bismuth citrate, lactose, and organic acid on necrotic enteritis in broilers. Poultry Science. 88:2280-2284.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Clostridium perfringens – associated necrotic enteritis causes significant losses and increased morbidity in poultry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of bismuth citrate and acidifiers on the development of necrotic enteritis in broilers. The first study was a dose response that evaluated the effect of bismuth citrate at 50, 100, or 200 ppm on intestinal colonization and lesion development associated with a C. perfringens challenge model. The second study evaluated bismuth citrate with the addition of dietary lactose or citric acid on intestinal pH and lesion development. For the third study, we determined if dietary lactose would enhance the efficacy of bismuth citrate on intestinal colonization and intestinal lesion development associated with C. perfringens. Study 1: Intestinal colonization of C. perfringens and intestinal lesions of the 100 and 200 ppm treatment group were significantly reduced when compared to birds fed 50 ppm or 0 ppm bismuth citrate. After feeding 50 ppm bismuth citrate, intestinal lesion development was reduced (p less than 0.05) when compared to birds fed 0 ppm bismuth citrate in trial 1, but not in trial 2. Study 2: Dietary lactose and citric acid treatments failed to significantly enhance the protective effect of bismuth citrate on lesion scores. Study 3: A decrease (p less than 0.05) in intestinal lesion scores occurred in birds fed 2.5% lactose with 100 ppm bismuth citrate, compared with the positive control group or dietary lactose group. There were no significant differences in bacterial populations. These data suggest that bismuth citrate with dietary lactose may promote gut integrity, subsequently reducing intestinal lesion development in broilers infected with necrotic enteritis.