Applied Research Note: Does feeding hulless barley affects Salmonella colonization in broiler chickens?

Abstract

SUMMARY: Salmonellosis is a significant public health risk and is often associated with the consumption of poultry products. Colonization of poultry by Salmonella may be affected by dietary ingredients. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of hulless barley (HB) and β-glucanase (BGase) on Salmonella colonization in broiler chickens. Day-old broilers (200) were placed in battery cages and fed diets with and without high β-glucan HB (CDC Fibar; 0 and 60%) and BGase (Econase GT 200 P from ABVista; 0 and 0.1%) in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Each treatment was assigned to 10 cages. All the birds were orally challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis LS101 strain at d 21. Broilers were infected with Salmonella Infantis before the S. Enteritidis challenge, and feeding HB decreased Salmonella positive cloacal swabs (%). HB decreased the percentage of birds positive for Salmonella in the spleen at pre-challenge and d 1 post-challenge, whereas increased the percentage positive for the spleen at d 4 post-challenge. BGase did not affect Salmonella colonization and translocation.

Keywords

• beta-glucan
• prebiotic
• feed enzyme
• gut microbiota
• zoonotic disease