Effect of a Selected Lactobacillus Spp.-based Probiotic on Salmonella Enterica Serovar Enteritidis-infected Broiler Chicks

The effect of a Lactobacillus spp.-based probiotic (FM-B11) on Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) recovery was evaluated in liquid (Expt. 1) and lyophilized (Expt. 2) forms in two separate experiments with two trials each. For each trial, 80 broiler chicks were randomly allocated into two treatments: control and probiotic culture. All chicks were challenged with SE (approximately 10(4) colony-forming units [cfu]) upon arrival at our laboratory. In both experiments, probiotic culture was administered in the drinking water for 3 consecutive days at a final concentration of approximately 10(6) cfu/ml, beginning 1 hr after SE challenge. Cecal tonsils were aseptically removed at 24 and 72 hr postchallenge, followed by enrichment and plating on xylose lactose deoxycholate (XLD) agar for the presence or absence of Salmonella-typical colonies. In Expt. 1, a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in SE-positive samples was observed in both trials at 24 and 72 hr postchallenge. Additionally, in Expt. 2, the lyophilized probiotic decreased (P < 0.05) SE recovery at both 24 and 72 hr postchallenge compared with the control group in trial 1. In trial 2, SE evaluation was performed only at 72 hr after challenge and fewer (P < 0.001) treated samples were positive for SE. Results showed that application of either liquid or lyophilized probiotic culture in the drinking water for 3 consecutive days can help to reduce SE recovery from young birds, although further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism of this response.