Effect of Feed Supplementation of Lactic Acid Bacteria on Microbial Changes in Broiler Intestine

Four isolates of lactic acid bacteria were examined as good probiotics. They were Enterococcus faecium PR-2, Rumen bacterium MG-2, Lactobacillus plantarum IFS-1 and L. plantarum IG-3. These strains survived well at pH (2 to3 and 8 to 9) and bile of broiler intestinal conditions. The four lactic acid bacterial strains were supplemented to the broiler feed and examined for the microbial changes in ileum and cecum of chickens. The results revealed that these probiotics influenced the population of lactic acid bacteria and E. coli in broiler intestines. In comparison with control group, the cell counts of lactic acid bacteria in the ileums of broilers consuming commercial probiotics, single culture of those four strains and mixed culture during rearing period were higher (p<0.01) while E. coli in ceca of the same treatments were lower (p<0.01). However, the population of lactic acid bacteria was higher than E. coli in both ileums and ceca of chickens. Moreover, Salmonella sp. was not detected in both control and treated broiler intestines.