Effects of Clostridium butyricum on growth performance, antioxidation, and immune function of broilers

To investigate the effects of Clostridium butyricum on growth performance, antioxidation, and immune function of broilers, 320 one-day-old Arbor Acres commercial male chicks were assigned to one of 5 treatments with 8 replicates in a completely randomized design for 42 d. The 5 treatments were basal diet (control), basal diet supplemented with 2.5 x 10(8) cfu C. butyricum/kg (CB1), basal diet supplemented with 5 x 108 cfu C. butyricum/kg (CB2), basal diet supplemented with 1 x 10(9) cfu C. butyricum/kg (CB3), and basal diet supplemented with 150 mg aureomycin/kg (antibiotic). The results showed that all C. butyricum-supplemented groups during d 1 to 21 and the CB2 group during d 22 to 42 had higher ADG compared with the control (P < 0.05). Chicks fed the CB3 diet had higher glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity (P < 0.05), and chicks fed the CB2 diet had a higher glutathione (GSH) concentration in duodenal and ileal mucosa at 21 d of age than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Chicks fed the CB3 diet had a lower malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in duodenal mucosa than those in the control and CB1 groups (P < 0.05). Chicks fed the CB2, CB3, and antibiotic diets had a lower MDA concentration in ileal mucosa than those in the control and CB1 groups (P < 0.05). Broilers fed the CB3 diet had greater superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the ileal mucosa on d 21 and in jejunal mucosa on d 42 than those in the other groups (P < 0.05). Chicks fed the CB2, CB3, and antibiotic diets had a higher GSH concentration in duodenal and jejunal mucosa on d 42 than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Broilers fed the CB2 and CB3 diets had a lower MDA concentration in the jejunal mucosa on d 42 than those in the control and CB1 groups. Chicks fed diets supplemented with C. butyricum had a higher IgM concentration than those in the control group at 21 and 42 d of age (P < 0.05). The results indicate that C. butyricum improves broilers' growth performance, antioxidation, and immune function.