Poultry Poultry Articles Gut Friendly Bacteria
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GUT FRIENDLY BACTERIA Over the years I have read many articles in the various journals espousing the merits of using a gut friendly bacteria. While these articles have been interesting,all seemed to lack sufficient data to support the suggestion that one should be using this product. The information that follows should make you a believer if you have any doubts as to the merit of this incredible product. Let us start by giving a definition as to what Probiotic means. The first three letters Pro mean ( for ) and the balance Biotic means ( life ) so a Probiotic product is for life or pro life if you will. These interesting gut friendly bacteria only work in the small intestine of the bird. Basically there are two groups of naturally occurring microorganisms functioning in the digestive system of birds. The first group are considered beneficial or non-pathogenic and are basically made up of the Probiotic group mainly Lactobacillus acidophilus. The second group is the potential pathogenic group consisting mainly of the coliform group mainly E. coli. The greatest controlling factor as to which group is able to get started in the intestine is the relevant Ph of the small intestine. The first group or the beneficial group has an optimal Ph range for growth of between 5.5 and 7.0 while the pathogenic group has an optimal Ph range of between 7.5 and 9.0. So let us examine what takes place when a bird is under stressful conditions. During periods of stress hormonal changes take place that cause a deterioration of the mucus lining of the gut and loss of the micro flora that are attached to or are otherwise associated with this gut mucus covering. Additionally a change in the Ph of the gut takes place and the Ph starts to rise. This rise in Ph will eventually allow the E. coli and Salmonella to start to get a foot hold in the intestine. Most E.coli give off deadly toxins that destroy the intestinal villi which are small finger like projections that line the intestinal tract. Their job amongst other things is to slow the movement of feed as it passes through the intestine and to provide sites for nutrient absorption through the intestinal wall. Destruction of the villi means that less nutrients will be absorbed and a greater chance for disease such as E.coli and Salmonella to take hold. Probiotic products work by competitive exclusion. This means that the greater number of different species of gut friendly bacteria that are present in the Probiotic compound the harder it is for the competing Salmonella and E. coli bacteria to get started. The different species of Lactobacillus that are present in a multiple species Probiotic product enhance the ability of the small intestine to absorb feed nutrients by improving the environment within the intestinal tract,which leads to better feed efficiency and better overall bird health. This is why Probiotic products that you can purchase at the health food store are not always successful in preventing or stopping gut problems as they usually only contain one species of bacteria which is usually Lactobacillus acidophilus and they are also not concentrated enough. Research conducted on various avian species shows that the use of Probiotic products significantly reduce the shed rate of E.coli and Salmonella in the droppings of the treated birds. What this means to you is that the probability of a bird that is infected with E.coli or Salmonella and is consuming a multi-species Probiotic compound,will have less of a chance of infecting his/her pen mates. Further research conducted in 1990 showed that healthy animals have a preponderance of lactic acid producing bacteria in their gut. It is for this reason that it is desirable to maintain the stability of the gut micro flora. Tests conducted on Avian species in 1991 showed that birds consuming a multiple species Probiotic compound had considerably less E. coli realted liver lesions than did the non medicated controls. Liver lesions in the non medicated control group were as much as four times greater than those birds that were receiving the Probiotic compound. Birds that were given the Probiotics either in the feed or in the water had significantly lower intestinal lesion scores against coccidiosis. Scores were 1/3 lower in those receiving a Probiotic supplement versus those that did not receive the Probiotic compound. It is interesting to note that recently a lot of publicity was given to the fact that the USDA and the FDA had approved the irradiation of certain meat and poultry products in an effort to reduce the number of human deaths and illnesses due to E. coli and Salmonella contamination. When tests were conducted,it was found that after irradiation took place both the good and the bad bacteria were killed off as expected but when contamination with the bad bacteria alone was allowed to take place the bad bacteria grew uncontrolled. When friendly bacteria were introduced to the meat products the uncontrolled growth of the bad guys was held in check. What this means is that irradiation of meat products is not the answer because when the bad bacteria were introduced they grew more rapidly and uncontrolled than before. In the future it may be possible that a group of friendly bacteria will be introduced to some meat and poultry products to control the carcass contamination problem. I thought it would be useful to give you some information on the different species of gut friendly bacteria and their supporting cast,so that you might get a better understanding of what they do.
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