Abstract
Restriction in antimicrobial use in broiler chicken production is driving the exploration of alternative feed additives that will support growth through the promotion of gastrointestinal health and development. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary inclusion of laminarin on growth performance, the expression of nutrient transporters, markers of inflammation and intestinal integrity in the small intestine and composition of the caecal microbiota in broiler chickens. Two-hundred-and-forty day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks (40.64 (3.43 SD) g) were randomly assigned to: (T1) basal diet (control); (T2) basal diet + 150 ppm laminarin; (T3) basal diet + 300 ppm laminarin (5 bird/pen; 16 pens/treatment). The basal diet was supplemented with a laminarin-rich Laminaria spp. extract (65% laminarin) to achieve the two laminarin inclusion levels (150 and 300 ppm). Chick weights and feed intake was recorded weekly. After 35 days of supplementation, one bird per pen from the control and best performing (300 ppm) laminarin groups were euthanized. Duodenal, jejunal and ileal tissues were collected for gene expression analysis. Caecal digesta was collected for microbiota analysis (high-throughput sequencing and QPCR). Dietary supplementation with 300 ppm laminarin increased both final body weight (2033 vs. 1906 ± 30.4, P < 0.05) and average daily gain (62.3 vs. 58.2 ± 0.95, P < 0.05) compared to the control group and average daily feed intake (114.1 vs. 106.0 and 104.5 ± 1.77, P < 0.05) compared to all other groups. Laminarin supplementation at 300 ppm increased the relative and absolute abundance of Bifidobacterium (P < 0.05) in the caecum. Laminarin supplementation increased the expression of interleukin 17A (IL17A) in the duodenum, claudin 1 (CLDN1) and toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in the jejunum and IL17A, CLDN1 and SLC15A1/peptide transporter 1 (SLC15A1/PepT1) in the ileum (P < 0.05). In conclusion, supplementation with laminarin is a promising dietary strategy to enhance growth performance and 300 ppm was the optimal inclusion level with which to promote a beneficial profile of the gastrointestinal microbiota in broiler chickens.