Evonik carried out research to investigate the effect of B. amyloliquefaciens CECT 5940 (Ecobiol) to ameliorate the negative impact of necrotic enteritis challenge caused by Clostridium perfringens
The research was conducted by Dr Shubiao Wu at New England University in Australia.
Necrotic enteritis (NE) disease is estimated to cause a US$6bn annual loss for the global poultry industry and, therefore, several studies have been conducted in order to develop an alternative treatment following the ban of antibiotic growth promoters.
Ecobiol may favour the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria. In addition, this bacterium may cross-feed other families of bacteria that can use lactate to produce butyrate such as Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae. Butyrate is known to have a positive effect on energy metabolism and gut health. Therefore, the reduction of CP in combination with the use of Ecobiol may have a synergic effect in the control of C. perfringens, avoiding major issues with NE.
Trial design: The trial consisted of four treatments
-Non Challenged
-Non Challenged + 0.5g/kg Ecobiol 500 (1 x 106 CFU/g of B. amyloliquefaciens CECT 5940)
-Challenged
-Challenged + 0.5g/kg Ecobiol 500 (1 x 106 CFU/g of B. amyloliquefaciens CECT 5940)
Challenged birds received an inoculation of 1ml Eimeria (5,000 sporulated oocysts each of E. maxima and E. acervulina and 2,500 of E. brunetti) at day nine and 1ml of C. perfringens (108 CFU) at days 14 and 15. Feed and water were provided ad libitum during the experimental period. The diets were provided in pellet form.
Results:
-The necrotic enteritis challenge significantly reduced performance of birds, as measured by lower feed intake, lower weight gain and higher FCR
-Overall, the addition of Ecobiol 500 significantly improved these parameters.
-Furthermore, Ecobiol 500 inclusion was able to reduce the impact of the disease challenge, improving bird performance.
-Measurements of enteric short chain fatty acids showed a significant increase in Butyric acid levels when Ecobiol 500 was included in the diet.
-Finally, amino acid digestibility was improved overall by about 1.5 per cent when Ecobiol 500 was used.
Conclusion:
-Inclusion of Ecobiol 500 helped to reduce the impact of necrotic enteritis, and may, therefore, be a useful tool to mitigate the effects of this condition.
-Improved digestibility of amino acids not only leads to improved performance but may also reduce substrate upon which problematic micro-organisms like Clostridium perfringens might thrive.
-Elevated levels of butyric acid are associated with better gut health overall and with improved performance.
In this article, Evonik mentions the main finding out of this research, but if you need the full details, please contact Evonik representative in your region to get the Facts and Figures document (Facts and Figures Poultry No. 15179).