Will probiotics be the next natural generation of growth promoters’ cofactors in broilers' industry?

Abstract

Growth promoter antibiotics (GPAs) play an important role in improving growth performances by preventing intestinal pathogenic bacteria proliferation such us Escherichia coli, Salmonella and clostridium. However, the large use of GPAs led to antibio-resistance and residues in both food of poultry origin (offal...) and environment which has negative effects on public health and meat quality. Thus, several clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate the effects of potential alternatives to ban GPAs’ use in poultry breeding. In fact, effects of those alternatives on gut health and growth performances, have been reported to be similar at GPAs especially ensuring intestinal microbiota balance and improving gut health and zootechnical performances. Thus, there is a need for further investigations to determine: strains, doses, synergistic combination, administration’ moment and cost of the probiotics per bird to establish appropriate protocols. The current review paper sheds light on the different aspects that define probiotics, going from their mechanism of action and their effects on zootechnical parameters and the digestive health on broilers to conclude with an overview on the economic indicators that succeed in their use and the revolutionary concept of the Ovo-feed.

 Key words: GPA, probiotics, broilers, gut health, growth performances