Dynamics of intestinal metabolites and morphology in response to necrotic enteritis challenge in broiler chickens.

Dynamics of intestinal metabolites and morphology in response to necrotic enteritis challenge in broiler chickens. Avian Pathol. 2016 Jun;45(3):346-56 Authors: Wu SB, Rodgers NJ, Cui G, Sun Y, Choct M Abstract Despite the relatively small contribution to metabolizable energy that volatile fatty acids (VFAs) provide in chickens, these organic acids have been reported to play beneficial roles in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of birds, for example, inhibition of the growth of some pathogenic bacteria. However, information regarding the dynamics of these metabolites in the GIT of chickens is still scarce, especially under disease conditions such as necrotic enteritis (NE). Here, we investigated the dynamics of VFAs and lactic acid, and intestinal morphology in response to NE predisposing factors, that is, excessive dietary fishmeal and Eimeria inoculation, and causative agent Clostridium perfringens producing NetB toxin. The experiment was designed in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with or without: fishmeal feeding, Eimeria inoculation and C. perfringens challenge. The results showed that these factors significantly influenced composition and concentration of VFAs and lactic acids, pH and histomorphometry in one way or another. These changes may be important for the onset of NE or only the synergetic responses to micro environmental stress. Eimeria appeared to be more important than fishmeal in predisposing ...
Source: Avian Pathology - Category: Pathology Authors: Tags: Avian Pathol Source Type: research