Ingestion of a novel galactoglucomannan oligosaccharide-arabinoxylan (GGMO-AX) complex affected growth performance and fermentative and immunological characteristics of broiler chicks challenged with Salmonella typhimurium.

Fermentable carbohydrates may enhance the ability of the gastrointestinal tract to defend against a pathogenic infection. We hypothesized that a galactoglucomannan oligosaccharide-arabinoxylan (GGMO-AX) complex would positively affect immune status and prevent colonization and shedding in Salmonella typhimurium-infected chicks. Using a completely randomized design, 1-d-old commercial broiler chicks (n = 240 chicks; 4 replications/treatment; 5 chicks/replication) were assigned to 1 of 6 dietary treatments differing in concentration of GGMO-AX (0, 1, 2, or 4%) or containing 2% Safmannan or 2% short-chain fructooligosaccharides. Cellulose was used to make diets iso-total dietary fiber. On d 10 posthatch, an equal number of chicks on each diet were inoculated with either phosphate-buffered saline (sham control) or Salmonella typhimurium (1 × 10(8) cfu). All birds were euthanized on d 10 postinoculation (PI) for collection of intestinal contents and select tissues. Body weight gain and feed intake of chicks were greater (P < 0.05) in infected chicks PI for all time periods, except for weight gain on d 0 to 3 PI. Gain:feed was affected (P < 0.05) by diet, with Safmannan-fed chicks having the highest G:F and 1% GGMO-AX-fed chicks having the lowest. The GGMO-AX substrate demonstrated effects similar to a prebiotic substrate as indicated by increased cecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations, decreased cecal pH, and increased populations of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacteria spp. as dietary GGMO-AX concentration increased. Excreta Salmonella typhimurium populations on d 5 and 10 PI, and ileal and cecal Salmonella typhimurium populations, tended to be affected (P < 0.10) by the main effect of diet. Messenger RNA expression of IFN-γ in the cecal tonsils was the only cytokine independently affected by infection and diet (P < 0.01). Chicks fed 2 and 4% GGMO-AX had similar expressions of IFN-γ and IL-1β, regardless of infection, suggesting that Salmonella typhimurium virulence was suppressed. Dietary supplementation with GGMO-AX resulted in prebiotic-like effects but did not limit Salmonella typhimurium intestinal colonization or shedding, but possibly decreased the virulence of Salmonella typhimurium within the digestive tract.