Effects of HW1 on Growth Performance, Intestinal Immune Response, Barrier Function, and Cecal Microflora of Broilers with Necrotic Enteritis

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of HW1 on growth performance, intestinal immune response, barrier function, and cecal microflora of broilers with necrotic enteritis. In total, 180 one-day-old male Cobb 500 broilers were randomly allocated into three groups comprising a non-infected control (NC) group, basal diet + necrotic enteritis challenge (NE) group, and basal diet + 4 × 10 CFU/g HW1 + necrotic enteritis challenge (HW1) group. Broilers in the NE and HW1 groups were orally given sporulated coccidian oocysts at day 14 and from days 19 to 21. The results showed that the HW1 treatment increased ( < 0.05) the average daily gain of broilers from days 15 to 28 and from days 0 to 28 compared with the NE group. Moreover, the HW1 treatment decreased ( < 0.05) the oocysts per gram of excreta, intestinal lesion scores, ileal interleukin (IL) 1β and tumor necrosis factor α levels, and serum -lactic acid and diamine oxidase levels, while increasing ( < 0.05) the ileal IL-10 level, thymus index, and protein expressions of ileal occludin and ZO-1. Additionally, the HW1 treatment decreased ( < 0.05) the jejunal and ileal villus height, jejunal villus height/crypt depth value, and cecal harmful bacterial counts (, , , and ), and increased ( < 0.05) the cecal count. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 4 × 10 CFU/g HW1 could relieve necrotic enteritis infection-induced intestinal injury and improve growth performance in broilers by improving intestinal barrier function and regulating intestinal microbiology.