Antibiotic Reduction Despite Challenging Times—Modern Gut Health Management

Combining the benefits of spore-forming and lactic acid producing bacteria, Bacillus coagulans is a unique probiotic. For decades, B. coagulans probiotics have been successfully used in the human health industry to suppress harmful bacteria, prevent intestinal disorders, stimulate the immune system, and improve digestion. Based on its success in human nutrition, B. coagulans has been gaining ground in livestock production. Indeed, over the last few years, this microbe has demonstrated great achievement in this area. These bacteria are hardy, spore-forming bacteria, which can withstand tough environmental conditions such as high heat, pressure, and acidity. When the environment returns to a more favorable one, like in the animals’ intestine, the spores will germinate to a vegetative lactic acid producing cell.

TechnoSpore^® is based on the probiotic strain B. coagulans DSM 32016 and supports the overall well-being of the animal and increases its performance potential. It promotes growth by producing digestive enzymes that improve feed digestion and conversion. TechnoSpore^® inhibits a wide range of pathogens, stimulates the immune defense, and promotes intestinal health and food safety. In total, the various modes of action of TechnoSpore^® support animal performance and feed efficiency by maintaining intestinal health.

In one study¹, one-day-old mixed-sex broiler chickens were used to evaluate the gut-protective effect of TechnoSpore^® in broilers challenged with C. perfringens. Birds were randomly assigned to control or TechnoSpore^® supplemented groups. The groups then had either a C. perfringens challenge or no challenge. The study lasted for 35 days. 

The positive effect of TechnoSpore^® supplementation was demonstrated by intestinal microbiological and histomorphological analysis of the intestinal epithelium of pathogen-challenged broilers. Intestinal C. perfringens counts were reduced by 66% on day 7 post-infection and 56% on day 14 post-infection in challenged birds supplemented with TechnoSpore^®. Cecal C. perfringens numbers were also reduced by 95% on day 7 post-infection and 58% on day 14 post-infection (Figure 1).

Figure 1: TechnoSpore^®-driven reduction of C. perfringens in intestinal and cecal samples of C. perfringens-challenged broiler. PI, post infection.

TechnoSpore^® also reduced other negative effects of the pathogen. For example, compared to the challenged control group, the challenged TechnoSpore^®-supplemented broilers had fewer fused intestinal villi, fewer dilated blood vessels, and fewer mucosal lesions (Figure 2). Fused villi are a typical pathological finding of intestinal infection disease. However, this protective mechanism drastically reduces the surface area available for nutrient absorption. Dilated blood vessels occur in the presence of oxygen and nutrient deprivation and is seen in pathogenic infections. Overall, TechnoSpore^®-fed birds challenged with C. perfringens had 31% fewer microscopic lesions.

Figure 2: TechnoSpore^®-driven improvement of C. perfringens-caused gut damage in C. perfringens-challenged broiler. Histopathological lesions were scored according to Rosales et al. (1989). PI, post infection.²

These results show that TechnoSpore^® has a protective effect against the negative effects of C. perfringens infection on the intestinal epithelium. It also reduces C. perfringens induced intestinal damage suggesting a more efficient nutrient absorption as well as a more regular activity of the immune system. Together, these results are evidence of the beneficial effect of TechnoSpore^® on the gut environment. A healthy gut is synonymous with high-producing birds, as it is the site of nutrient absorption. Overall, this study demonstrates that TechnoSpore^® is an environmentally friendly tool to reduce antibiotic interventions in livestock farming.

The positive effect of TechnoSpore^® can be measured by the improvement of performance indicators. In this study, TechnoSpore^® increased final body weight in C. perfringens-challenged broilers by 13.4%. It also improved average feed conversion by 7.9% and reduced bird mortality by -3.3% (10.8% versus 7.5%). Moreover, TechnoSpore^® significantly improved final body weight by 5.6% and feed conversion ratio by -4.4% in non-challenged groups. This demonstrated the ability of TechnoSpore^® to improve the gut health and performance even under non-challenging conditions.

TechnoSpore^® is an innovative feed additive that is based on the probiotic strain B. coagulans DSM 32016. This probiotic makes use of the beneficial properties of both the spore-forming bacteria and the lactic acid bacteria. TechnoSpore^® offers a solution for the management of intestinal health in poultry. TechnoSpore^® is a safe and effective feed additive with health benefits that are supported by research.