Effect of probiotic Clostridium butyricum CBM 588 on microbiota and growth performance of broiler chickens

Clostridium butyricum CBM 588 is used as a probiotic in eastern Asian countries and has been recently approved as an animal feed additive in the European Union. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of C. butyricum MIYAIRI 588 (CBM 588) on abundance of selected genera of caecal and crop bacteria, volatile fatty acids and growth performance of broiler chickens. We studied counts of anaerobic bacteria in caeca and crops of broiler chickens by plate-count method and evaluated their growth performance. CBM 588 significantly reduced E. coli counts in caeca of broiler chickens at days 10 and 42 and also enhanced their growth performance. Additionally, it significantly increased the amount of butyrate in the caeca that provides energy to enterocytes, resulting in increased weight gains. Out of the obtained results we conclude that C. butyricum CBM 588 influences caecal microbiota of broiler chickens and positively affects their growth performance.