Influence of Bacillus subtilis and acetic acid on Cobb500 intestinal microflora.

The beneficial modes of probiotic action include regulation of intestinal microbial homeostasis, stabilization of the gastrointestinal barrier function expression of bacteriocins and interference with the ability of pathogens to colonize and infect the mucosa. Organic acids as feed additives have been used to reduce or eliminate pathogenic bacteria and fungal contamination, control microbial growth and reduction of microbial metabolites. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Bacillus subtilis, acetic acid and their combination on the intestinal microflora of broiler chickens (Cobb 500). The experiment was carried out on 4 groups each contains 100 chicks as follows: control (without addition), treatment 1 (acetic acid), treatment 2 (Bacillus subtilis) and treatment 3 (acetic acid + Bacillus subtilis). Six samples from each group were selected as a sample (mixed sex). The highest average number of log CFU.g-1 Lactobacillus sp. was in the treatment 3 – 7.11 log CFU.g-1 and the lowest was in the control group – 6.85. The highest average number of log CFU.g-1 Enterococcus sp. was in the treatment 2 – 7.17 log CFU.g-1 and the lowest was in the control group – 5.65. In both observing additions of Bacillus subtilis and acetic acid increase the number of log CFU.g-1 Lactobacillus sp. and Enterococcus sp. compared with control group. The lower average number of log CFU.g-1 coliform bacteria was in the treatment 2 – 5.9 log CFU.g-1 and the higher was in control group – 6.98. The additional supplement decreased the number of log CFU.g-1 coliform bacteria in the treatment groups compared with the control.