Due to regulation and consumer-driven decreases in the use of antibiotics, there is a critical need for the development of alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) for use in poultry production. Direct-fed microorganisms (DFM) and prebiotics, which have been demonstrated to improve growth performance and microbial safety of poultry, are thought to be potentially important alternatives to AGP. In this study, we investigated the administration of 2 multi-strain Bacillus spp. cultures as DFM, Saccharomyces cerevisiae–derived refined functional carbohydrates (RFC) as a prebiotic, and a multi-strain direct-fed Bacillus spp. culture and RFC in combination as a synbiotic in comparison to an AGP and an untreated control in broiler chickens. DFM, prebiotic, and synbiotic administration improved BW at 14 D, starter FCR, and cumulative ADG when compared to an untreated control and at a level similar to broilers administered an AGP. Administration of either DFM culture, RFC, or the synbiotic reduced recovery of Campylobacter spp. by up to 1 log¹⁰ cfu g^-1 when compared to the untreated control, whereas 1 log¹⁰ cfu g^-1 more total Lactic Acid Bacteria were recovered when broilers were administered prebiotic RFC compared to the untreated control. These data suggest that administration of DFM and prebiotics can be used to improve growth performance, reduce the colonization of human foodborne pathogens, and promote populations of beneficial bacteria in poultry.

由于法规的使用以及消费者对抗生素使用的减少，因此迫切需要开发用于禽类生产的抗生素生长促进剂（AGP）的替代品。已证明直接饲喂微生物（DFM）和益生元可以改善家禽的生长性能和微生物安全性，它们被认为是AGP的潜在重要替代品。在这项研究中，我们调查了2多株芽孢杆菌属的管理。文化包括DFM，酿酒酵母（Saccharomyces cerevisiae）衍生的精制功能碳水化合物（RFC）作为益生元，以及多菌株直接喂养的芽孢杆菌spp。与AGP和未经处理的对照相比，肉鸡培养和RFC组合作为合生元。与未经处理的对照相比，DFM，益生元和合生元的施用可改善14 D时的体重，起始FCR和累积ADG，其水平与施用AGP的肉鸡相似。施用DFM培养物，RFC或合生素会降低弯曲杆菌属的恢复。与未处理的对照组相比，最多 可增加1 log ¹⁰ cfu g ^-1，而1 log ¹⁰  cfu g ^-1与未处理的对照相比，当给肉鸡施用益生元RFC时，可以回收到更多的乳酸菌。这些数据表明，使用DFM和益生元可以改善生长性能，减少人类食源性病原体的定殖，并促进家禽中有益细菌的繁殖。