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C. jejuni is considered a food safety concern to both public health authorities and consumers since it is the leading bacterial cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in humans. A high incidence of C. jejuni in broiler flocks is often correlated to pathogen recovery in retail poultry meat, which is the main source of human infection. In this work broiler chickens were fed with a synbiotic product mixed with conventional feed using two different administration strategies. The synbiotic was formulated with the microencapsulated probiotic Bifidobacterium longum PCB133 and a xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS). 1-day old chicks were infected with C. jejuni strain M1 (10 5 cells) and the synbiotic mixture was then administered starting from the first and the 14th day of chicken life (for animal groups GrpC and GrpB respectively). The goal of this study was to monitor C. jejuni load at caecum level at different sampling time by real-time PCR, identifying the best administration strategy. The microbiological analysis of the caecal content also considered the quantification of Campylobacter spp., Bifidobacterium spp. and B. longum. The supplemented synbiotic was more successful in reducing C. jejuni and Campylobacter spp. when administered lifelong, compared to the shorter supplementation (GrpB). Bifidobacterium spp. quantification did not show significant differences among treatments and B. longum PCB133 was detected in both supplemented groups evidencing the successful colonization of the strain. Moreover, the samples of the control group (GrpA) and GrpC were analysed with PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) to compare the caecal microbial community profiles at the beginning and at the end of the trial. Pattern analysis evidenced the strong influence of the early synbiotic supplementation, although a physiological change in the microbial community, occurring during growth, could be observed. Experimental results demonstrate that the synbiotic approach at farm level can be an effective strategy, combined with biosecurity measures, to improve the safety of poultry meat., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

With the ban of dietary antimicrobial agents, the use of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics has attracted a great deal of attention in order to improve intestinal health and control food-borne pathogens, which is an important concern for the production of safe meat and meat products. Recently, Campylobacter jejuni has emerged as a leading bacterial cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in humans, and epidemiological evidences indicate poultry and poultry products as the main source of human infection. This work aimed at the development of a synbiotic mixture capable of modulating the gut microbiota of broiler chickens to obtain an increase of the beneficial bacteria (i.e. bifidobacteria, lactobacilli) and a competitive reduction of C. jejuni. The prebiotic compound used in the mixture was chosen after an in vivo trial: a fructooligosaccharide and a galactooligosaccharide were separately administered to broilers mixed with normal feed at a concentration of 0.5% and 3%, respectively. Quantitative PCR on DNA extracted from fecal samples revealed a significant (p<0.05) increase of Bifidobacterium spp. in broilers treated with the galactooligosaccharide, coupled to a decrease (p<0.05) of Campylobacter spp. The galactooligosaccharide was then combined with a probiotic Bifidobacterium strain (B. longum subsp. longum PCB133), possessing in vitro antimicrobial activity against C. jejuni. The strain was microencapsulated in a lipid matrix to ensure viability into the feed and resistance to stomach transit. Finally, the synbiotic mixture was administered to broiler chickens for 14 days mixed with normal feed in order to have an intake of 10(9)CFU of PCB133/day. Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., Campylobacter spp., B. longum subsp. longum and C. jejuni were quantified in fecal samples. PCB133 was recovered in feces of all animals. C. jejuni concentration in poultry feces was significantly (p<0.05) reduced in chickens administered with the synbiotic mixture. This study allowed to highlight the positive effect of the synbiotic approach for C. jejuni reduction in broiler chickens, which is of fundamental importance for the safety of poultry meat consumers., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Campylobacteriosis is at present the most frequent zoonosis in humans and the main source is poultry meat contaminated by Campylobacter jejuni. An alternative and effective approach to antibiotic administration to livestock to reduce bacterial contamination is the use of probiotics, which can help to improve the natural defence of animals against pathogenic bacteria. In this study 55 lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria were screened for desirable properties for their application as probiotics against Campylobacter in poultry. All bacteria were examined for their antimicrobial activity against three C. jejuni strains. Strains exhibiting the highest anti-Campylobacter activity were examined for their survival in the gastro intestinal tract (low pH and presence of bile salts) and food/feed processing conditions (high temperature, high NaCl concentration and starvation) and basic safety aspects such as antibiotic susceptibility and hemolytic activity were studied. On the basis of these activities, two strains, namely Lactobacillus plantarum PCS 20 and Bifidobacterium longum PCB 133, were chosen for an in vivo trial in poultry. They were separately administered to healthy chickens in order to evaluate their capability of colonizing the GI tract of poultry and to estimate their effect on C. jejuni population. The results evidenced that L. plantarum PCS 20 was not present in poultry feces at detectable concentration, whereas B. longum PCB 133 significantly increased after two weeks of daily administration and its amount was still high after a wash-out period of 6 days. In the same period, C. jejuni concentration in poultry feces was significantly reduced in chickens administered with B. longum PCB 133. Therefore, B. longum PCB 133, possessing interesting probiotic properties and a marked anti-Campylobacter activity both in vitro and in vivo, is an excellent candidate for being employed as additives to feed for poultry for the reduction of food-borne campylobacteriosis in humans., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)