Effect of the use of prebiotics, alone and in combination with antibiotics, in broiler diets

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of prebiotics, alone and in combination with antibiotics, on broiler performance, carcass yield, intestinal permeability, and intestinal morphometry. A total of 1440 day-old male Cobb 500 chicks were distributed in a completely randomized design, with four treatments and 10 replications per treatment. The treatments used were a basal diet without prebiotics and antibiotics (BD), a basal diet with antibiotics (AB), a basal diet with prebiotics (PRE), and a basal diet with antibiotics and prebiotics (AB+PRE). To perform the treatment, the antibiotic zinc bacitracin and a prebiotic of S. cerevisiae-derived mannan-oligosaccharides and beta-glucans were used. The treatments did not affect the performance of birds from 1 to 7 and 1 to 21 days of age. From 1 to 35 and 1 to 42 days, birds fed the AB+PRE treatment had higher feed intake than those fed the AB treatment. From 1 to 35 days, birds fed the AB+PRE treatment showed a worse feed conversion ratio. However, there was no difference in carcass yield between treatments. A higher number of goblet cells was observed in the duodenum and ileum of birds fed AB+PRE, but lower counts were obtained in birds fed AB. Intestinal histomorphometry displayed similar responses between both ages regarding antibiotic and prebiotic treatments, except in the ileum at 42 days, in which the antibiotic elicited a better response. Intestinal permeability analysis showed no significant difference between diets. The use of prebiotics, alone or in combination with antibiotics, does not improve the performance of broilers.