Effects of Clostridium butyricum on growth performance, lipid metabolism and the caecal microecological environment of broilers

To investigate the effects of Clostridium butyricum on growth performance, lipid metabolism and caecal microecological environment of broilers, 256 one-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly allocated into two treatment groups with 8 replicates in a completely randomised design. The broilers were fed on maize-soybean- meal-based diets and supplemented with 0 or 5 x 10(8) cfu of C. butyricum/kg of diet for 42 days. The birds in the C. butyricum-supplemented groups showed higher (P < 0.05) ADG and lower (P < 0.05) FCR during the grower phase and throughout the entire period of the experiment. In addition, supplementation with C. butyricum increased (P < 0.05) the content of intramuscular fat and the activity of lipoprotein lipase in the breast muscle, increased (P=0.019) the butyric acid concentration in the caecal contents at 42 d of age, enhanced (P < 0.05) the relative abundance of Lactobacillus in the caecal contents at both 21 and 42 d of age but reduced (P=0.014) the activity of hormone-sensitive lipase in the breast muscle at 42 d of age. The results of this study indicate that dietary supplementation with C. butyricum can improve growth performance, lipid metabolism and the caecal microecological environment of broilers.