Probiotics effect on Poultry and Pig

   Probiotics effect on Poultry and Pig

                                               Nutan Chauhan, Anamika Sahu

Animal Nutrition Division

NDRI, Karnal

nutanc03@gmail.com

 

History

At the start of the 20^th century, Russian noble prize winner and father of modern immunology, Elie Metchnikoff, a scientist at the Pasture institute, was the first postulate probiotics. In 1907 Metchnokoff proposed that the acid producing bacteria in fermented milk products could prevent fouling in the large intestine and if consumed regularly, lead to a longer, healthier life. The term “probiotic” comes from two Greek words “Pro” and “Biotic” and it means “for the life”.

What are probiotics?

Probiotics defined as microorganisms that have a beneficial effect on the host intestinal microbial balance. The Probiotics organisms are live microorganisms thought to be beneficial to the host organism. According to the currently adopted definition by WHO/FAO, probiotics are “live strains of strictly selected microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”. The most common types of microbes used as probiotics are lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria, but some yeast and bacilli can also be used. Feeding strategies have been directed to control the microbial gastrointestinal environment by nutritional means.

Source of Probiotics & their benefits:

In human nutrition, lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are frequently included in yoghurts and other milk products. However, their use in animal nutrition is somewhat restricted due to their poor stability during storage. In general, probiotic feed additives consist of a single strain or a mixture of multiple strains of bacteria. There is some common microorganism which are used as some probiotics for Pig and Poultry:

Microorganisms	Animals	Common Benefits
E. faecalis	Pig	Improve colostrum quality, milk quality    and Quantity
E. faecium
Bacillus cereus		Increase litter size
B. subtilis		Increase piglet weight
B. licheniformis		Reduce risk of diarrhoea
L. reuteri		meat quality
L. acidophilus		Limit constipation
S. cerevisiae		Decrease stress
L. acidophilus	Poultry	Increase body weight gain
S. faecium		Reduce mortality
L. reuteri		Increase carcass quality decreasing contamination
E. faecium		Increase bone quality

 

 Functions of Probiotics:

Common functions of probiotics are –

• Probiotics increase the population of the good bacteria
• Enhance specific and nonspecific immune response
• Increase nutritional value
• Inhibition of pathogen growth and translocation
• Produce vitamins (especially vit. B and vit.K)
• Stimulation of gastrointestinal immunity
• Produce antimicrobial agent

1. Low molecular mass compounds (≤1000 Da) such as organic acids (acetic acid, lactic acid), nitrogen oxide, hydrogen peroxide and antimicrobial peptides (lantibiotics, lanthionin)
2. Antimicrobial proteins bacteriocins (≥1000 Da) such as lactacin B, plantaricin and nisin

Expected characteristics of ideal probiotics

1. To be non-pathogenic, non-toxic and free of significant adverse side effects on targeted species.
2. To have a precise taxonomic recognition.
3. To be a normal inhabitant and modify intestinal microbiota of the targeted species.
4. To be able to survive, colonize and being metabolically active in the targeted site, which implies:
5. a) Resistance to gastric juice and bile
6. b) Persistence in the gastrointestinal tract
7. c) Adhesion to gastrointestinal tract epithelium or mucus
8. d) Competition with the resident microbiota
9. To be genetically stable.
10. To be amenable and stable during industrial processing, storage and delivery.
11. To be viable at high populations.

Mode of action of probiotics:

The hypothesised mechanisms of action of probiotics are: 1) Reducing the pH, which is an unfriendly environment for intestinal pathogens; 2) Attachment on the intestinal epithelial surfaces to prevent pathogen attachment; 3) Competition for nutrients with pathogens; 4) Production of inhibitory substances such as organic acids, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocins; and 5) Stimulation of specific and nonspecific immunity such as IL and IgA.

Three principles are the key foundation of the mode of action of probiotic feed additives-

• Competitive exclusion
• Bacterial antagonism
• Immune modulation

Competitive exclusion

The concept of competitive exclusion indicates that cultures of selected, beneficial microorganisms, supplemented to the feed, compete with potentially harmful bacteria in terms of adhesion sites and organic substrates (mainly carbon and energy sources). Probiotics can colonize and multiply in the gut, blocking receptor locations and preventing other bacteria from attaching, including harmful species such as enteropathogenic bacteria. E. coli or Salmonella.

Bacterial antagonism

Substances with bactericidal or bacteriostatic properties (bacteriocins) such as lactoferrin, lysozyme, hydrogen peroxide, as well as several organic acids can be generated by probiotic microorganisms once stablished in the gut. These compounds have a negative effect on harmful bacteria, mostly due to a drop in the pH of the gut. The low secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach of weaning piglets will partially offset a reduction in pH. Furthermore, competition between probiotics and other bacteria for energy and nutrients can result in the suppression of pathogenic organisms. Broilers were fed multi-strain probiotic based on Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, Enterococcus and Pediococcus or a commercial antibiotic growth promoter (AGP, Avilamycin). The amount of beneficial bacteria Bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli and Gram-positive cocci increased dramatically compared to the control and AGP treatment

Immune modulation

The development and activation of the humoral and cellular gut-associated immune system is largely affected by the development of the gut microflora. Microbial communities can support the animal’s defence against invading pathogens by stimulating gastrointestinal immune response.

Evaluation of probiotics effect on poultry

• Probiotic effects on growth performance

Studies on the beneficial impact on poultry performance have indicated that probiotic supplementation can have positive effects.

• The live weight gains were higher in experimental birds as compared to control ones Administration of the selected probiotic (FM-B11) to turkeys increased the average daily gain and market BW
• Mean values of giblets, hot dress weight, cold dress weight and dressing percentage were higher for probiotic (Lacto-Sacc) fed broilers.
• Bacillus cereus or Saccharomyces boulardii improved feed conversion rate by 12 and 11 per cent, respectively in broiler.
• Multi-strain probiotic in the drinking water significantly improved live weight (4 per cent) and daily weight gain by 4 per cent and Mortality rate was decreased by 16 per cent.
• Effects on the Intestinal Microbiota and Intestinal Morphology

 

• Probiotic organisms inhibited some non-beneficial pathogens by occupying intestinal wall space.
• Chicks dosed with Lactobacillus strains had lower numbers of coliforms in cecal macerates than the control
• salivarius 3d strain reduced the number of Salmonella enteritidis and Clostridium perfringens in the group of chickens treated with Lactobacillus
• Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Bacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Aspergillus, Candida, and Saccharomyces have a potential effect on modulation of intestinal microflora and pathogen inhibition

        Probiotic Effects on Immune Response

The main factors affecting the efficacy of the probiotic preparations depend on way and timing of the administration

• Probiotics increase the immune response of broilers and produced higher antibody as compared to control ones.
• Probiotics enhances serum and intestinal natural antibodies to several foreign antigens in chickens A combination of different lactic acid bacteria reduced the levels of Salmonella enteritidis in caecal contents of broilers
• Lactic acid bacteria cultures have been widely used for 1-d-old chicks to reduce Salmonella infection in poultry and turkey production
• Degrade aflatoxins by the production of enzymes and avoid the intestinal absorption of AFB₁ by its binding to the cell walls of probiotic strains

Evaluating Probiotic Effects on Meat Quality

• Supplementation of probiotics in broiler ration improved the meat quality both at prefreezing and postfreezing storage
• Probiotics improved appearance, flavour, texture and juiciness
• Meat from probiotic fed birds showed lower total viable count as compared to the meat obtained from control birds.
• Meat tenderness could be improved by the whole yeast or Saccharomyces cerevisiae extract

        Evaluating Probiotic Effects on egg Quality

• Improvement in egg quality like decreased yolk cholesterol level, improved shell thickness, egg weight
• Probiotics leave no residues in the meats and eggs
• A combined mix culture of Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. Casei, Bifidobacterium thermophilus and Enterococcus faecium enhanced egg size and lowered feed cost in laying hens

 Effects of Probiotics on Pig Performance

Weaning and post-weaning periods are the most stressful conditions in Pig, resulting in:- Transient drop in feed intake, Inhibition of growth performance, negative influence on the immune function and Disrupt intestinal microbiota equilibrium finally leading to increased susceptibility to gut disorders like diarrhoea. So, probiotics is very useful to get rid this problem. Effect of probiotics are –

• Probiotic Effects on Growth Performance
• Probiotic preparation based on Bacillus cereus improved daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio by 24 and 19 per cent, respectively
• Addition of probiotics originating from Bacillus licheniformis improved average daily weight gain of Piglets
• Two- or multi-strain probiotic feed additive to growing pigs improved average daily weight gain and feed efficiency because of the synergistic effect of probiotics
• Oral administration of the probiotic Streptococcus faecium to gnotobiotic piglets, challenged with various pathogenic strains of E. coli, resulted in increased weight gain.
• Bacillus cereus increase the litter size
• Probiotic Effects on meat quality of pork
• Subtilis reduces the morbidity and the mortality in weaned piglets, improves the performance parameters of the fattening pigs and improves carcass quality
• Probiotic supplemented in pigs resulted in an improvement in meat color, marbling, tenderness, flavor and juiciness
• Evaluating Probiotic Effects on Immune Response
• Supplementation of probiotics in sow diets appears to reduce pathogen load and establish, more rapidly, the beneficial bacterial species, such as Lactobacillus, in the postnatal piglet, to defend against disease challenges and stimulate immune development.
• Probiotics have also proven to reduce the Inflammatory cells TNF, IL-10, Bifidobacterium-based probiotics also have remarkable effects against Salmonella and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC K88) in weanling pigs

 

• Effects on the Intestinal Microbiota and Intestinal Morphology

It modulates the intestinal microflora, enhancement of intestinal and systemic immune response

• The incidence and severity of diarrhoea as well as mortality rate were decreased
• Rhamnosus GG (LGG) fed in postweaning piglets was effective in improving diarrhea induced by E. Coli
• Cereus based probiotic showed not only lower prevalence of diarrhoea, but also that pigs needed to eat less food to attain the same weight gain

 

When to use probiotics?

Healthy adult animal has a gut composed primarily of good bacteria. If we give that animal a probiotic that contains new strains of good bacteria. It would be just swapping in some new good bacteria for some old good bacteria. Therefore, it does not give much benefit in providing probiotics to healthy adult animals. The benefit of probiotics with respect to health status and performance is expected to be highest in young animals such as piglets, newly-hatched chickens or calves, because these animals have not yet developed a stable gut microflora. In addition, the gut microflora is usually decimated when animals undergo medicinal treatment with antibiotic. Therefore, after antibiotic treatment, administration of probiotics helps to re-establish a beneficial gut microflora to prevent repeated pathogenic colonization by the host.

Selection of probiotics in feed industry

Lactobacillus-based probiotics grow very well, but these types of probiotics do not withstand high temperature environments such as pellet feeds. They can be used ably in mash feed and/or in pellet feed with a Post Pelleting Liquid Application (PPLA) system. Bacillus subtilis probiotics resist temperature of up to 205⁰F making this the probiotic of choice for pellet feed. The downside of Bacillus subtilis probiotics is the poor growth rate in the gut, which requires their supplementation throughout the entire grow-out period. So selection is more important of probiotics according to feed manufactured.

Examples of probiotic formulas used in nutrition& dose rate

Trade name of the preparation	Microorganisms	Destination
Acid-Pak-4-Way	Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium	Poultry, pigs
Anta Pro EF	Enterococcus faecium	Pig
Avian PAC	Streptococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus	Poultry
Calsporin	Bacillus subtilis	Poultry, pigs
Bro-biofair	Saccharomyces servisia	Pig
Probios	Lactobacillus: acidophilus, casei, plantarum, lactis; Enterococcus faecium; Bacillus subtilis	Poultry, pigs

 

The recommended dose for the majority of probiotic strains is 10⁹CFU/kg of feed

Global Probiotics Market

The global probiotics in animal feed market size was valued at USD 3.56 billion in 2018 and projected to reach USD 6.24 billion by the end of 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.30% in the forecast period. Lactic acid bacteria remain one of the most utilized strains in the poultry feed

Conclusion

In non-ruminants, probiotics have great potential to have a beneficial impact on the gut microflora and thus enhance gut health. Recent data confirms that a combination of several bacterial strains in a ‘multi-strain’ preparation is highly efficient in monogastric feeding.