Administration of and as Direct-Fed Microbials Improves Intestinal Microflora and Morphology in Broiler Chickens.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of () and () as directed-fed microbials on performance, intestinal microflora, and intestinal morphology in broiler chickens. A total of four hundred one-day-old broiler chickens were randomly divided into 16 pens of 25 chickens each, and every treatment had 4 replicated pens with two pens of males and females respectively. A formulated corn-soybean meal based control diets and experimental diets, including 0.1% (1×10 colony-forming units (CFU)/kg), the mixture of 0.05% (5×10 CFU/kg) and 0.05% (5×10 CFU/kg), and 10 ppm antibiotic (avilamycin), were fed for 5 weeks. The results showed no significant difference in the growth performance among all treatments. Supplementation of the mixture of and increased acetate and propionate and decreased the in ceca compared to control and antibiotic treatment. The treatments with antibiotic, , and the mixture of and compared to control treatment increased villus height / crypt depth ratio and decreased ammonia in excreta. In addition, supplementation of and the mixture of and compared to antibiotic treatment increased serum high-density lipoprotein, and decreased serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, respectively. In conclusion, supplementation of the mixture of and was better than added only, and the mixed probiotics product could potentially alter the use of avilamycin in broiler diets.