Effects of salinomycin and Bacillus subtilis on growth performance and immune responses in broiler chickens.

Abstract The present study was undertaken to compare the effect of salinomycin and Bacillus subtilis on growth performance, serum antibody levels against Clostridium spp. and Eimeria spp., and cytokine mRNA expression levels in broiler chickens raised in the used litter. Broiler chickens fed a diet containing salinomycin showed lower ( P P B. subtilis -enriched diet compared with those on either the salinomycin-fed or control diet-fed chickens. None of the dietary treatments affected ( P  > 0.05) serum antibody levels against Clostridium perfringens toxins. Both salinomycin and B. subtilis significantly lowered ( P Eimeria -specific antibodies compared with the control group. Salinomycin, but not B. subtilis , significantly modulated ( P B. subtilis affected serum anticoccidial antibody and intestinal cytokine expression, but failed to improve growth performance in broiler chickens. Further study is warranted to investigate the mode of action of salinomycin on host immune response and growth performance in broiler chickens.