Glycerides blend supplementation modulates the composition and diver-sity of gut microbiota in broiler-chickens

The gut microbiome plays a central role in nutrient utilization, barrier integrity, and immune homeostasis, making it a key target for nutritional modulation as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters. This study evaluated the effects of a fatty acid glyceride blend (FAG-B) on the diversity and taxonomic structure of the intestinal microbiome in broiler chickens. The investigation was conducted using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. The aim of the study was to assess alpha diversity, beta diversity, and to perform a comparative analysis of relative taxonomic abundance between the control group and the FAG-B–supplemented group. The effect of FAG-B significantly increased alpha diversity, as evidenced by higher Shannon index values and reduced inter-individual variability. Beta diversity analysis based on Bray–Curtis dissimilarity revealed a clear separation between groups, confirming a pronounced restructuring of microbial communities in response to supplementation. The results demonstrated that FAG-B supplementation markedly reduced the abundance of opportunistic and potentially pathogenic taxa, including Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Helicobacter pullorum. Moreover, FAG-B significantly enriched obligate anaerobic saccharolytic bacteria associated with short-chain fatty acid production, including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum, Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans, and Blautia spp. Shifts within the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families further supported a transition toward microbial consortia associated with carbohydrate fermentation and intestinal homeostasis. In contrast, several commensal taxa remained relatively stable, likely due to the selective effect of FAG-B. Overall, the findings indicate that FAG-B supplementation modulates microbiome composition, suppresses pathogenic taxa, enhances microbial diversity, and improves fermentative and metabolic profiles. The obtained results suggest that the microbiome-modulating potential of FAG-B represents a promising strategy for the development of novel nutritional approaches in poultry production. The application of microbiome-targeted additives warrants further investigation into gut barrier function, including interactions among mucosal, epithelial, and immune barriers and the microbial community.