Purpose: An experiment was conducted within the EU-FP7 project CAMPYBRO in order to evaluate the effect of a combination of a blend of mono-glycerides and organic acids (MGOA) with a probiotic (B. subtilis DSM17299, P) added to the feed on Campylobacter counts in broilers.
Methods: There were two treatments applied from 1-42d of age, T1: Positive controls (Campylobacter, no additives) and T2: T1+MGOA at 1.5% from 1-10d and 2.5% thereafter+P at 0.1%. A total of 108 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers (male and female, 50%) were divided into the experimental treatments. At 14d, all broilers were orally gavaged with 100 µl of a solution containing 1 x 105 CFU/ml of ST-45 and ST-21 C. jejuni strains. On days 21, 35 and 42, ceca from 14 birds per treatment were collected and Campylobacter counts determined (ISO 10272). Data expressed as log10CFU/g ceca content were first tested for normality and then analysed by ANOVA or the nonparametric test of Kruskall-Wallis (SPSS v.19.0).
Results: No significant differences in the Campylobacter counts were observed between treatments at 21d (4.06 vs 3.77 log10CFU/g, for T1 vs T2; P=0.53). However, Campylobacter counts were reduced by MGOA+P supplementation at 35d (6.57 vs 3.89 log10CFU/g, for T1 vs T2; P=0.005) and the trend was maintained at 42d (7.44 vs 7.01 log10CFU/g, for T1vs T2; P=0.097). The reduction in Campylobacter counts at 35d was mainly due to a higher number of non-infected birds in the MGOA+P treatment (14.3 vs 57.1% for T1 vs T2; P=0.018).
Significance: It is concluded that supplementation of broiler diets with a blend of mono-glycerides with organic acids together with a probiotic can effectively decrease Campylobacter in broilers.