Excerpt
The acidification of diets using various weak organic acids such as formic, fumaric, propionic, lactic and sorbic acid has been reported to decrease colonization by pathogens and the production of toxic metabolites, as well as improving the digestibility of protein and of Ca, P, Mg and Zn which can serve as substrates in intermediary metabolism (Hassan, Mohamed, Youssef, & Hassan, 2010; Kirchgessner & Roth, 1988). In the extensive rearing of broiler chickens, organic acid supplements in their diet can enhance their utilization of nutrients and improve their growth and feed conversion efficiency (Agboola, Omidiwura, Odu, Popoola, & Iyayi, 2015). Organic acids and their salts can penetrate a bacterium's cell wall and disrupt its normal physiology as well as reducing the pH of the digesta, increasing pancreatic secretion and can also have trophic effects on the mucosa of the GI tract of animals (Adil, Banday, Bhatm, Mir, & Rehman, 2010). Moreover, the creation of an acidic environment (pH 3.5–4.0) in the gut of broiler chickens by organic acids favours the development of lactobacilli and inhibits the replication of Escherichia coli, Salmonella and other gram‐negative bacteria (Chowdhury et al., 2009; Kopecký, Hrnčár, & Weis, 2012), thus improving their gut health and feed conversion ratio (FCR).
Probiotics are viable micro‐organisms which provide beneficial effects to their host by modifying the intestinal microbiota (Fatufe & Matanmi, 2011). In livestock nutrition, Bacillus, Enterococcus and Saccharomyces are the most common organisms used (Simon, Jadamus, & Vahjen, 2001). The mode of action of probiotics in poultry includes maintaining normal intestinal microflora by competitive exclusion antagonism, lowering the pH through acid fermentation, competing for mucosal attachment and nutrients, producing bacteriocins, stimulating the immune system associated with the gut and increasing the production of short‐chain fatty acids (Sarangi et al., 2016). Both Pirgozliev, Murphy, Owens, George, and McCannin (2008) and Agboola et al. (2015) have reported the beneficial effects of dietary additives (organic acids and probiotics) on energy and protein utilization in poultry. Both constituents are able to modify the microflora which can be the origin of GI sickness and favour a healthy intestinal microflora (Çelik, Mutluay, & Uzatici, 2007; Conway & Wang, 1997; Youssef, Mostafa, & Abdel‐Wahab, 2017).