Sudarshan Patil, Venket Shelke, Partha Das and R Chanthirasekaran
KEMIN INDUSTRIES SOUTH ASIA PVT. LTD.
INTRODUCTION
Good intestinal health is required to maintain efficient and sustainable gastrointestinal tract (GIT) physiology, as it must perform essential functions like digestion, absorption, metabolic, and immunological functions. Hence, any minute disruption in normal intestinal health affects many systemic functions, resulting in poor performance and growth of birds1. In the poultry industry, antibiotics have been used for decades to control enteric problems and improve meat and egg production. However, indiscriminate usage of antibiotics resulted in severe problems like an imbalance of normal intestinal microflora and the development of drug-resistant bacteria having a direct effect on human health2. Therefore, seeking alternatives for these antibiotics has recently gained tremendous importance worldwide. Many studies have shown that essential oils, organic acids, herbal extracts, probiotics, and prebiotics can be used as antibiotic alternatives. Among all these, probiotics are used mainly, due to their beneficial effects on immune function and growth, along with their lower production cost. Proper selection of probiotic strain is required to get optimal effects. Probiotics can be a potential alternative to antibiotics in the animal food industry because of their proven ability to minimize intestinal diseases in poultry and contamination of potential food-borne pathogens and poultry by-products3. It promotes growth by modulating the gut environment and enhancing gut barrier function via fortification of beneficial intestinal microflora, competitive exclusion of pathogens, and stimulation of the immune system4. This experiment was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a novel probiotic combination, namely ENTEROSURE™, on performance parameters (body weight, feed conversion ratio- FCR, European efficiency factor- EEF), economic returns, and gut health in commercial broilers.
ENTEROSURE™
Driving Intestinal Resilience
To boost profitable and sustainable production and satisfy consumer needs, there is a primary requirement to take control of enteric diseases, which demands a powerful and comprehensive solution that enhances the resiliency of the intestine. After extensive research for several years, a revolutionary multi-strain probiotic product called ENTEROSURE™ was developed. ENTEROSURE™ is a multi-strain probiotic product containing a proprietary blend of 3 probiotic Bacillus strain spores: Bacillus subtilis PB6, Bacillus subtilis FXA, and Bacillus licheniformis G3, which is effective against the pathogenic strains of Clostridium, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella in all target species9 (Figure 1).
Mode of action
ENTEROSURE™ has a blend of probiotic Bacillus strains that secretes antimicrobial metabolites and quorum quenching molecules to directly inhibit and manage the growth of specific pathogenic bacteria and promote, restore, and maintain a healthy microbiome, enabling the product to manage intestinal health challenges and improve animal productivity9.
Figure 1: Resilient Solution – ENTEROSURE™ (mode of action)11
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The experiment was conducted in two commercial open-house broiler sheds in Maharashtra, India. A total of 7,170 Vencobb-430 commercial broiler birds were placed in two sheds, namely control and treatment groups, with 3,585 birds in each group. A medium-density maize and soya-based diet was formulated for both groups, considering the nutrient specifications as per the standard broiler recommendations. The trial groups and dosage details are given in Table 1.
Table 1: Trial details and dosage of experimental groups
| GROUPS | DESCRIPTION | NUMBER OF BIRDS |
| Control | Basal diet as per industry recommendations having CTC 15% at 500 gm/MT of feed | 3585 |
| Treatment | Control diet with replacement of CTC 15% by ENTEROSURE™ at 200gm/MT of feed | 3585 |
All birds were reared on a deep litter floor and given a pre-starter diet from 1 to 14 days, starter diets from 15 to 28 days, and from 29 days onwards, finisher diets were fed to birds. Weekly parameters pertaining to average body weight and cumulative feed intake were noted. Weekly body weight was taken for each group at the end of every week till the liquidation of the flock. Birds had ad libitum clean drinking water containing sanitizer and an acidifier. Birds were vaccinated as per the standard practices. Gut health monitoring was done on the 30th day for coccidiosis by following Johnson & Reid method and dysbacteriosis as per Kemin’s standardized method of lesion scoring adapted from Teirlynck et.al, 2011 method5,6.
RESULTS
- Performance parameters
All the performance parameters were analyzed after 40 days, and substantial improvement was observed in birds. ENTEROSURE™, as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) in feed, has shown an advantageous effect on broiler performance. Figures 2, 3, and 4 depict the detailed comparison of all the performance parameters of experimental groups after 40 days of trial. In the last two weeks of the trial period, high mortality was observed due to extreme environmental conditions and heat stress. The lower mortality percentage of the treatment group by 4.18% might be due to the immunomodulation effect of ENTEROSURE™.
The inclusion of ENTEROSURE™ in the diet improved body weight gain by 103 grams in the treatment group compared to the control. FCR was improved in the ENTEROSURE™ fed group over control by 9-points, indicating better feed conversion efficacy due to ENTEROSURE™. There was notable optimization seen in production cost per kg in the treatment group, which was less by INR 4.74/kg than the control (Table 2). Improved performances with lesser CoP resulted in a better RoI of 15:1 after dietary incorporation of ENTEROSURE™, which proves better economic returns.
Table 2: Economic benefits and return on investment of experimental groups
| Parameters | Control | Treatment |
| Number of birds | 3,585 | 3,585 |
| Mortality | 484 | 334 |
| Mean Age (days) | 37.08 | 39.27 |
| Total feed intake (kg) | 13,680 | 14,320 |
| Feed intake per Bird (kg) | 4.41 | 4.40 |
| Average Body weight (kg) | 2.365 | 2.468 |
| FCR | 1.87 | 1.78 |
| Corrected FCR (CFCR) | 1.77 | 1.67 |
| Average Feed cost (INR) | 45.32 | 45.39 |
| Chick cost (INR) | 1,00,380 | 1,00,380 |
| Birds sold (Numbers) | 3,101 | 3,251 |
| Total live weight sold (kg) | 7,333.87 | 8,026.72 |
| Total feed consumed (kg) | 13,680.00 | 14,320.00 |
| Production cost/kg live weight (INR) | 98.22 | 93.48 |
| Price for live kg weight (INR) | 127 | 127 |
| Live kgs per MT of feed (kg) | 536.10 | 560.53 |
| Gross income per MT of feed (INR) | 68,084.86 | 71,186.68 |
| Net income per MT of feed (INR) | 22,764.86 | 25,796.68 |
| The extra income per MT of feed (INR) | – | 3,031.83 |
| Inclusion cost/MT feed (INR) | – | 200 |
| Return on investment | – | 15:1 |
(a) (b)
| Figure 2: Effect of ENTEROSURE™ on Avg Body Weight (a) and Feed intake (b) |
(a) (b)
| Figure 3: Effect of ENTEROSURE™on FCR (a) and Mortality (b) |
(a) (b)
| Figure 4: Effect of ENTEROSURE™on EEF (a) and Cost of Production (b) |
- Gut health
Lesion scoring was done to evaluate the effects of ENTEROSURE™ on intestinal health on the 30th day of the trial by sacrificing four birds by cervical dislocation from each group following ethical practices. It was observed that the dysbacteriosis score was 0.25 and 0.75 in the treatment and control groups, respectively (Table 3). Lower dysbacteriosis scores in the treatment group may be due to the ameliorative effects of ENTEROSURE™ on intestinal integrity, gut microbiota, and its inhibitory action against common pathogenic bacteria found in the intestine.
Table 3: Dysbacteriosis & Total Mean Lesion Score of experimental groups
| Parameters | Control | Treatment |
| E. acervulina | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| E. maxima | 0.50 | 1.00 |
| E. tenella | 0.25 | 0.50 |
| Total Mean Lesion Scoring (TMLS) | 0.75 | 1.50 |
| Bacterial enteritis (Dysbacteriosis) | 0.75 | 0.25 |
DISCUSSION
Recently, the poultry industry faced multiple challenges, which include sky-rocketing prices of feed raw materials, inferior quality of raw materials, disease outbreaks, and environmental challenges, which have a direct adverse impact on productivity7. Limitations on using AGPs in poultry production increased challenges in maintaining intestinal health to optimum condition for better bird performance. It has been proved that probiotics can promote broiler performance by improving digestive function, modulating the intestinal microflora, enhancing immunomodulation, and enhancing broiler health. Many studies revealed that the usage of probiotics in poultry as an alternative to AGP had a positive impact on the performance of birds. In the current study, it was observed that the addition of a novel probiotic, ENTEROSURE™, in the feed could comfortably replace AGP with a substantial improvement in zootechnical parameters. As ENTEROSURE™ is a novel combination of Bacillus spp., it can form spores that can withstand high processing temperatures and low pH of GIT. Apart from its digestive function, it can also suppress the growth and colonization of pathogenic bacteria and decrease the viscosity caused due to non-starch polysaccharides8.
CONCLUSION
After analyzing all the parameters, it can be concluded that ENTEROSURE™ can be a better alternative to the commonly used AGP in feed. ENTEROSURE™ was able to maintain the performance of birds with improved feed conversion ratio and body weight, reduced mortality, and better economic efficiency with a RoI of 15:1 when compared to the AGP-fed control group. Lesion scoring revealed that there is better control of dysbacteriosis, which helps to maintain better intestinal health. Hence, the current study showed that ENTEROSURE™ can be used as a potential alternative to the commonly used AGP in poultry diet.