Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Biosciences & Biotechnology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #323932
Title: Calcium Montmorillonite-based dietary supplement attenuates Necrotic Enteritis induced by Eimeria maxima and Clostridium perfringens in broilers

Author
item Lillehoj, Hyun
item LEE, SUNG - Rural Development Administration - Korea
item PARK, SOON - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item JEONG, MISUN - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item LIM, YEA SEUL - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item MATHIS, GREG - Southern Poultry Research, Inc
item LUMPKIN, BRETT - Southern Poultry Research, Inc
item CHI, FANG - Amlan International
item CHING, SAN - Amlan International
item CRAVENS, RON - Amlan International

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/11/2016
Publication Date: 6/25/2016
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/5695442
Citation: Lillehoj, H.S., Lee, S.H., Park, S.S., Jeong, M., Lim, Y., Mathis, G.F., Lumpkin, B., Chi, F., Ching, S., Cravens, R.L. 2016. Calcium Montmorillonite-based dietary supplement attenuates Necrotic Enteritis induced by Eimeria maxima and Clostridium perfringens in broilers. Poultry Science. 53:329-340.

Interpretive Summary: Necrotic enteritis (NE) is an intestinal disease of chickens caused by Clostridium perfringens (CP) bacteria and the worldwide incidence of poultry NE has progressively increased in recent years due to legislatively mandated and voluntary removal of antibiotics from poultry feed. Two major toxins, Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin and NetB (Necrotic enteritis B-like) toxin are involved in the pathology of NE in poultry. In this report, ARS scientists and scientists from a private industry in US collaborated to find a feed additive which can bind major toxins of CP. One feed additive tested contains a sorbent mineral called calcium montmorillonite (CaMM) and was effective in removing two major toxins and reduced the clinical signs of NE. Furthermore, dietary treatment of newly hatched commercial chickens from hatch with a diet supplemented with a CaMM-based product significantly increased body weight gain, and reduced negative effects of CP infection. These results clearly showed the beneficial effects of feeding young birds with CaMM-based products in reducing the negative health effects of broilers affected with NE.

Technical Abstract: We provide the first description of Dietary Supplement of sorbent minerals attenuates Necrotic Enteritis Induced by Eimeria maxima and Clostridium perfringens in Broilers. Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a poultry disease caused by Clostridium perfringens and characterized by severe intestinal necrosis. The incidence of avian NE has been progressively increasing following the removal of antibiotics from poultry feed. We evaluated the effect of diets supplemented with the thermally-processed clays, calcium montmorillonite (CaMM) and Varium®, on clinical signs, immunopathology, and cytokine responses in broiler chickens using an experimental model of NE consisting of co-infection with Eimeria maxima and C. perfringens. In Trial 1, Ross/Ross chickens were fed from hatch with a normal basal diet or a CaMM-supplemented diet with or without a fermentable fiber, an organic acid, and/or a plant extract, and co-infected with E. maxima and C. perfringens under conditions simulating clinical infection in the field. Chickens fed a diet supplemented with CaMM plus a fermentable fiber and an organic acid had increased body weight gain, reduced gut lesions, and increased serum antibody levels to C. perfringens a-toxin and NetB toxin compared with chickens fed the basal diet alone. Levels of transcripts for interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), IL-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and tumor necrosis factor-a superfamily-15 were significantly altered in the intestine and spleen of CaMM-supplemented chickens compared with unsupplemented controls. In Trial 2, Cobb/Cobb chickens were fed an unsupplemented diet or a diet supplemented with CaMM or Varium®, each with a fermentable fiber and an organic acid, and co-infected with E. maxima and C. perfringens under subclinical infection conditions. Compared with unsupplemented controls, broilers fed with Varium® plus a fermentable fiber and an organic acid had increased body weight gain, and reduced feed conversion ratio, mortality, and intestinal lesions, compared with chickens fed an unsupplemented diet. Dietary supplementation of broiler chickens with CaMM or Varium® plus a fermentable fiber and an organic acid might be useful to control avian NE in the field.