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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Toxicology & Mycotoxin Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #414241
Research Project: Strategies to Reduce Mycotoxin Contamination in Animal Feed and its Effect in Poultry Production Systems

Location: Toxicology & Mycotoxin Research

Title: Effect of synbiotic supplementation on growth performance and immune response of broiler chickens exposed to fumonisins, Type B trichothecenes, and zearalenone

Author
item DASIREDDY, JOSEPH RISHITHA - University Of Georgia
item KAPPARI, LAHARIKA - University Of Georgia
item PENDER, CHASITY - Dsm
item DOUPOVEC, BARBARA - Dsm Animal Nutrition And Health
item MURUGESAN, G.RAJ - Dsm Animal Nutrition And Health
item APPLEGATE, TODD - University Of Georgia
item Shanmugasundaram, Revathi

Submitted to: Poultry Science Association Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/28/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: The poultry industry is experiencing significant economic losses estimated at $900 million annually due to mycotoxin contamination, posing a considerable challenge for mitigation efforts. Probiotics can have enzymatic activity that can enhance the gut integrity of poultry. The objective of this study is to identify the efficiency of a synbiotic that contains Bifidobacterium animalis, Pediococcus acidilactici, Enterococcus faecium, and fructooligosaccharides on the production performance and immune responses of birds exposed to feed mycotoxins like fumonisins (FB1), deoxynivalenol (DON), and zearalenone (ZEA). A total of 360 one-day-old Cobb 500 chicks were randomly allocated to four treatments in a 2x2 factorial setup with six replicates per group (n = 6). The treatment groups were Control, Synbiotic at 0.05% (PoultryStar BRO, dsm-firmenich), Mycotoxin, and Mycotoxin + Synbiotic at 0.05%. The analyzed mycotoxin content of the basal and mycotoxin diets was 2.4mg FB1 + 1 mg DON + 0.07 mg ZEA and 8.5mg FB1 + 3.8mg DON + 0.6mg ZEA per kg of feed. All treatment diets contain an average of 0.5 mg of other Type B trichothecenes (15-acetyl DON, 3-acetyl DON) per kg of feed. The data was analyzed using a two-way ANOVA. On d35, there were no significant interaction effects (P > 0.05) between treatment groups on BWG. Birds in the mycotoxin group had 80 g of BWG that was numerically lower (P > 0.05), and birds in the synbiotic group had 148 g of BWG that was significantly higher (P< 0.05) compared to the control group. On d35, there were no significant main effects between treatment groups on FCR (P >0.05). The birds in the synbiotic group had a decrease of 2 points in FCR compared to the control group, whereas the birds in the mycotoxin group had an increase of 2 points (P > 0.05). On d35, there were no significant interaction effects between treatment groups on the cecal tonsil CD8+:CD4+ ratio (P > 0.05). Birds in the mycotoxin group had significantly decreased the CD8+:CD4+ ratio by 43% compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Birds in the synbiotics group had significantly increased the CD8+:CD4+ ratio by 16.75% compared to the control group (P < 0.05). On d35, there were no significant interactions between treatment groups on the nitric oxide production of splenic macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (P > 0.05). In conclusion, mycotoxins had a negative impact on production performances, the cecal tonsil CD8+:CD4+ ratio even at subclinical doses, and synbiotic supplementation improved production performance, altered the cecal tonsil immune response, and improved intestinal integrity during the mycotoxin challenge.