Effect of activated and inactivated <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> as alternative to antibiotic growth promoter on the performance and health of broilers infected with <i>Clostridium perfringens</i>

The study aims to evaluate the addition of activated and inactivated Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the performance and health of broilers infected with Clostridium perfringens. 360 1–day-old male Ross 308 broilers were divided into 5 groups of 12 cages as experimental units (6 birds per cage) as follows: NC = negative control, basal diet; PC = positive control, basal diet; TI = 0.5 g amoxicillin 20%/kg diet; T2 = 0.75 g activated Saccharomyces cerevisiae/kg diet; T3 = 0.75 g inactivated Saccharomyces cerevisiae/kg diet. At 20 and 21 days of age, all groups except NC were infected with Clostridium perfringens type A by oral injection. At 30 days of age, carcase traits, liver enzymes, oxidation status, microbiota and ileum histomorphology were evaluated. The performance indicators, carcase weight after infection of the birds, were negatively affected compared to the NC group, while T2 and T3, followed by T1, improved compared to the PC group (p < .05). The concentrations of ALT, AST, ALP, and MDA as well as Clostridium spp and Salmonella spp. increased in the PC group, and the TAC concentration and Lactobacillus spp. decreased in the PC group, while these parameters improved by T2 and T3 (p < .05). In addition, the PC group had the lowest histomorphometric parameters compared to NC, while they increased in other groups than PC (p < .05). In conclusion, activated and inactivated Saccharomyces cerevisiae could be effectively mitigate the negative effects of Clostridium perfringens infection on broiler performance and health.