Effects Of Sodium Butyrate On Growth-promoting Mechanism And Application Efficacy In Broilers

Three experiments were conducted to study the effects of sodium butyrate (SB) on nutrient availability, intestinal pH value, digestive enzyme activity,VFA, morphology and cecal microflora in broilers. In experiment 1, seventy-two 36-d-old Arbor Acre broilers were allotted to 9 treatments each consisted of four replications of two chickens, and then fed the test diets for 3 days to assess the effects of different sources (powder and coated) and levels of sodium butyrate (SB) on apparent and true digestibility of nutrients and energy. Dietary treatments were basal diet (without SB or antibiotics), basal diet supplemented with 40 mg/kg zinc bacitracin + 8 mg/kg colistin sulfate, or with 100, 200, 300 mg of two sources (powder and coated) of SB per kg diet, respectively, and other eight extra birds kept as negative control. In experiment 2, four hundred and eighty 1-d-old AA broiler chicks were randomly divided into 4 groups and treated as follows: 1) a SB and antibiotics-free control (CTR); 2) control diet + 40 mg/kg Zinc Bacitracin and 8 mg/kg Colistin Sulfate (ZC); 3) control diet + 200 mg/kg PSB (PSB); 4) control diet + 200 mg/kg CSB (CSB). Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) of broilers at 21 and 42 days of age was recorded. At 14 and 35 days of age, twelve broilers were randomly chosen to determine intestinal pH value, digestive enzyme activities, VFA, morphology and cecal microflora, respectively. In experiment 3, 130560 one-day-old AA broilers were randomly divided into two treatments each consisted of four replcations of 16320 chicks with feeding control diets (CTR) or test diets (CSB) containing coated sodium butyrate of 200 mg/kg to determine the growth performance. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) of broilers of each week were recorded.The results of experiment 1 showed that: supplementation of two sources of sodium butyrate increased (P<0.05) dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and gross energy availability of broilers significantly, especially to the metabolism of crude protein. The efficiency of coated sodium butyrate on nutrient availability was better than that of powder sodium butyrate and combination of zinc bacitracin.and colistin sulfate. And the proper addition was 200 mg/kg.The results of experiment 2 showed that: sodium butyrate supplementation at concentration of 200 mg/kg improved the growth performance, intestinal VFA content, digestive enzyme activities and villus height: crpyt depth ratio, and has the tendency of decrease the intestinal pH value, populations of Lactobacillus in cecum was significantly higher and Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens in the cecum were decreased. And efficiency of sodium butyrate on broilers at 14 days were better than that of 35 days.The results of experiment 3 showed that: supplementation of coated sodium butyrate at concentration of 200 mg/kg improved growth performance and decreased feed conversion ratio significantly.In conclusion, the addition of sodium butyrate showed a positive effect on performance and intestinal health, and coated sodium butyrate can be a possible substance to replace combination of zinc bacitracin.and colistin sulfate as growth promoters for farm animals.