Effect of dietary post-biotic supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant status, immunity and gut health in broiler chickens

1. This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae post-biotic on growth performance, immune response, antioxidant status, gut microbial population and intestinal morphology in broiler chickens.2. A total of 144, one-day-old Vencobb-400F broiler chicks were randomly distributed into three dietary treatments, each with eight replicates containing six chicks, and reared in battery cages for 35 d.3. The control diet was without post-biotic supplementation, while the treatment diets contained 0.5 or 1 g/kg post-biotic. Growth performance, Newcastle disease antibody titre, caecal microbial counts, serum antioxidant indices and gut histomorphometry were recorded.4. Birds fed diets supplemented with post-biotics showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher body weight gain and improved feed conversion ratio compared to the control group, while feed intake remained unaffected.5. Newcastle disease antibody titres were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in birds fed 1 g/kg post-biotic. Supplementation increased (p < 0.05) Lactobacillus spp. counts and reduced (p < 0.05) E. coli populations in the caecum.6. Serum antioxidant enzymes were significantly elevated (p < 0.05), whereas lipid peroxidation and cortisol levels were significantly reduced in supplemented birds compared to control. Improvements in villi measurements were observed, although differences were mostly not significant.