Effect of zinc on growth performance, gut morphometry, and cecal microbial community in broilers challenged with Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium.

To evaluate the effects of supplemental zinc on growth performance, gut morphometry, and the cecal microbial community in broilers challenged with Salmonella typhimurium, 180, 1-day-old male Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 3 treatments with ten replicates for a 42 day experiment. The 3 treatments were: unchallenged, S. typhimurium-challenged, and S. typhimurium-challenged with 120 mg/kg of zinc supplementation in the diet. Salmonella infection caused a reduction in body-weight gain and feed intake, disrupted the intestinal structure by decreasing the villus-height/crypt-depth ratio of the ileum and increasing the apoptotic index of ileal epithelial cells. Moreover, the cecal microbial community was altered by Salmonella infection, as demonstrated by a reduced number of Lactobacillus and total bacteria. Dietary zinc supplementation improved growth performance by increasing the body-weight gain and feed intake in the challenged broilers. In addition, zinc repaired intestinal injury by reducing the apoptotic index of ileal epithelial cells, enhancing villus height and the villus-height/crypt-depth ratio of the ileum, and the proliferation index of ileal epithelial cells. Finally, zinc regulated the cecal microbial community by increasing the number of total bacteria and beneficial Lactobacillus bacteria, and reducing the number of Salmonella. The results indicated that dietary zinc supplementation improved growth performance, intestinal morphology, and intestinal microbiota in S. typhimurium-challenged broilers.