The effects of dietary mannaoligosaccharides on cecal parameters and the concentrations of enteric bacteria in the ceca of salmonella-challenged broiler chicks.

The ability of different enteric pathogens and coliforms to trigger agglutination of yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, NCYC 1026) and a yeast cell wall preparation (MOS) was examined. Five of seven strains of Escherichia coli and 7 of 10 strains of Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis agglutinated MOS and Sac. cerevisiae cells. Strains of Salmonella choleraesuis, Salmonella pullorum, and Campylobacter did not lead to agglutination. Two strains that agglutinated MOS (S. typhimurium 29E and Salmonella dublin) and one nonagglutinating strain (S. typhimurium 27A) were selected as challenge organisms for in vivo studies in chicks under controlled conditions. In a series of three trials in which 3-d-old chicks were orally challenged with 10(4) cfu of S. typhimurium 29E, birds receiving 4,000 ppm of dietary MOS had reduced cecal S. typhimurium 29E concentrations (5.40 vs 4.01 log cfu/ g; P < 0.05) at Day 10. In a second series of three trials with S. dublin as challenge organism, the number of birds that tested salmonella positive in the ceca at Day 10 was less when MOS was part of the diet (90 vs 56%; P < 0.05). To test the effect of MOS on concentrations of bacteria that do not express Type 1 fimbriae, a challenge trial was conducted with S. typhimurium 27A. However, strain 27A did not colonize the birds sufficiently to evaluate whether MOS affected its cecal concentration. Mannanoligosaccharide did not significantly reduce the concentrations of cecal coliforms (P < 0.10) although they were numerically lower. It had no effect on cecal concentrations of lactobacilli, enterococci, anaerobic bacteria, lactate, volatile fatty acid, or cecal pH.