Comparison of the efficacy of cultures of cecal anaerobes as inocula to reduce Salmonella typhimurium colonization in chicks with or without dietary lactose.

The ability of anaerobic cultures from mature chicken cecal material stored at -70 C for 1 or 10 mo to reduce Salmonella typhimurium colonization of the ceca of young chicks was evaluated. Chick treatments consisted of per os inoculation with anaerobic cultures from the cecal materials and providing or not providing the chicks dietary lactose. Chicks were challenged per os at 3 days of age with 10(6) S. typhimurium. Chicks were killed on Day 10, and their cecal contents were analyzed for pH, oxidation-reduction potential, total short-chained volatile fatty acids (VFA), lactic acid, and the number of S. typhimurium per gram of cecal content. Cecal concentration of undissociated VFA was calculated. Dietary lactose produced a .66- to .87-unit decrease in cecal pH, and significant increases in cecal lactic acid concentrations, undissociated cecal acetic and propionic acid concentrations, and cecal oxidation-reduction potentials. The treatment of the combination of cecal anaerobes from the 1 mo-old cecal material and dietary lactose caused a greater reduction in S. typhimurium cecal colonization than any other treatment.