Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (7): 3344-3356.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.07.027

• Animal Nutrition and Feeds • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Bacillus licheniformis on Immunity, Antioxidant Performance and Intestinal Health of Broiler Chickens Challenged by Escherichia coli

PENG Wenwen1(), ZHANG Meiting1, XU Haocheng1, XU Baoyang1, ZHANG Lingling2, YANG Caimei1,*()   

  1. 1. Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Animal Health Inspection & Internet Technology, Key Laboratory of Applied Technology on Green-Eco-Healthy Animal Husbandry of Zhejiang Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
    2. Zhejiang Vegamax Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Vegamax Green Animal Health Products Key Agricultural Enterprise Research Institute, Anji 313300, China
  • Received:2024-07-29 Online:2025-07-23 Published:2025-07-25
  • Contact: YANG Caimei E-mail:pwenwen2022@163.com;yangcaimei2012@163.com

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Bacillus licheniformis on the immune response function, antioxidant capacity, cecal short-chain fatty acid content and microflora of E22-challenged broilers. In this experiment, 360 1-day-old male yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into 4 groups, with 6 replicates in each group, and 15 broilers in each replicate, and the experimental period was 28 days. The control group (CON) was fed basal diet+perfusion with blank LB medium. In the BL group, broilers were fed basal diet+Bacillus licheniformis; E22 group, they were fed basal diet+E. coli E22 bacterial solution; BL+E22 group was fed with basal diet+Bacillus licheniformis+E. coli E22 solution. The results showed that: 1)compared with the control group, the addition of Bacillus licheniformis (BL group) to the feed significantly increased the organ index of broiler liver, the levels of IgG, IgY, IgM and anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 in serum (P < 0.05), and significantly reduced the level of pro-inflammatory factor TNF-α in broiler serum (P < 0.05); Meanwhile, compared with the E22 group, the BL+E22 group significantly increased the organ index of broiler thymus, IgG, IgY, and IgM levels, and significantly reduced the levels of inflammatory factors IL-1β and TNF-α (P < 0.05). 2) Compared with the control group, the BL group significantly increased the activities of serum SOD and GSH-PX in broiler chickens (P < 0.05), and significantly reduced the content of MDA (P < 0.05). Compared with the E22 group, the BL+E22 group significantly increased the activity of GSH-Px in broiler serum and significantly decreased the activity of MDA in broiler serum (P < 0.05). 3) Compared with the control group, the BL group significantly increased the content of acetic acid in the cecal contents of broiler chickens (P < 0.05), and significantly decreased the content of isobutyric acid and isovaleric acid (P < 0.05). Compared with the E22 group, the BL+E22 group significantly increased the content of acetic acid and propionic acid (P < 0.05). 4) 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the BL group significantly increased the relative abundance of Barnesiella_viscericola and unclassifiedd_g__Barnesiella (P<0.05). In conclusion, the addition of Bacillus licheniformis to the diet could improve the immunity, antioxidant capacity and cecal SCFAs content of broilers, and improve the diversity of cecal microbial populations. At the same time, Bacillus licheniformis in the diet can alleviate the inflammation, oxidative stress response and intestinal flora disorder caused by E. coli infection to a certain extent.

Key words: Bacillus licheniformis, yellow-feathered broilers, Escherichia coli, inflammation, antioxidant, gut health

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