Research progress on application of Clostridium butyricum in poultry production.

Clostridium butyricum is an anaerobic heterotrophic Gram-positive Bacillus, which can produce butyric acid and lactic acid. As a kind of probiotics, Clostridium butyricum is widely found in the intestinal tract of humans and animals. The characteristics of Clostridium butyricum are safety, high temperature resistance, gastric acid resistance, bile salt resistance, and so on. Adding proper amount of Clostridium butyricum in diet can improve animal growth performance, enhance animal immunity and antioxidant function, improve livestock and poultry product quality, adjust intestinal microecological balance, and promote intestinal health. Compared with antibiotics, Clostridium butyricum can effectively reduce drug residue, which has the advantages of green environmental protection and no drug resistance. It is an ideal substitute for dietary antibiotics. The paper reviews the characteristics, biological functions and mechanism of Clostridium butyricum, and summarizes the applications of Clostridium butyricum in poultry production, in order to provide a reference for reasonable application of Clostridium butyricum in poultry production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]