PROBIÓTICOS NA RAÇÃO PARA O CONTROLE DE SALMONELLA MINNESOTA EM FRANGOS DE CORTE.

The present study was designed to compare the ability of different probiotics, applied in feed, to reduce Salmonella colonization and interfere with the cellular dynamics in the intestinal mucosa of broilers challenged with Salmonella enterica enterica sorovar Minnesota (SM). The following probiotics were used: A composed of Bacillus subtillis CCT 7711; B containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Enterococcus faecium, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Bifidobacterium bifidum; C consisting of Bacillus subtilis DSM 5750; and D with Enterococcus faecium. All tested probiotics were able to significantly reduce the Salmonella counts in cloacal swabs assessed at 48 h after inoculation when compared with the positive control. All probiotics were able to reduce the Salmonella counts in the cecum when compared to the positive control at 35 days. None of the tested probiotics reduced the Salmonella counts in the crop of broilers at 35 days of age. All probiotics induced an increase in the CD4 + and CD8+ cell counts in the cecum mucosa relative to the negative control group at 7 days of age; only probiotics C and D, reduced significantly the CD8 + cell counts in this same tissue of broilers at 35 days compared to positive control group. The results from this study indicated that the tested probiotics presented different effects on the reduction of SM counts and affected the cell dynamics in the cecum mucosa of broilers differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]