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Efficacy testing of a defined competitive exclusion product in combination with fructooligosaccharide for protection against Salmonella Typhimurium challenge in broiler chicks

B. E. Telg^* and D. J. Caldwell^,1

^* Department of Population Health, Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, 953 College Station Road, University of Georgia, Athens 30602; and Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-2472

¹ Corresponding author: Caldwell{at}poultry.tamu.edu

Three replicate trials were conducted to evaluate the ability of fructooligosaccharide (FOS), in combination with a defined competitive exclusion (dCE) culture, to reduce cecal colonization of Salmonella Typhimurium in 1-d-old naïve broiler chicks. Fructooligosaccharide is an oligosaccharide that cannot be directly utilized by avian or mammalian species, but that can be fermented and utilized for growth by many bacterial species. For each trial, 4 groups were established, with each group receiving a different treatment (FOS only, FOS + dCE, dCE only, and nontreatment controls). Forty-eight hours after the administration of each group-specific treatment, ceca were harvested from 5 chicks in each group to evaluate the establishment of the competitive exclusion culture through cecal propionate levels. The remaining chicks were challenged with 10⁴ cfu of Salmonella Typhimurium by oral gavage. Body weight gain and feed intake were monitored throughout the trials. Seven days after Salmonella challenge, the ceca and crops were aseptically collected from all chicks. Both direct plating for enumeration and enrichment were performed to assess the level of Salmonella colonization in these chicks. Chicks in the dCE-only and dCE + FOS groups had consistently higher cecal propionate levels than the chicks in the FOS-only and nontreatment control groups. Body weight gain and feed conversion were not consistently different among the 4 treatment groups. However, enriched and direct-plated levels of Salmonella were consistently lower in both the crops and ceca of chicks in the dCE-only and dCE + FOS groups when compared with the FOS-only and non-treatment control groups. No significant differences were consistently observed between the dCE-only and dCE + FOS groups in any measured category.

Key Words: competitive exclusion • Salmonella • fructooligosaccharide • probiotic