Advances in prevention of chicken coccidiosis by probiotics regulating intestinal barrier

Abstract:

Coccidiosis brings great economic loss to the poultry industry. The urgent need of green and healthy feed makes the prevention and control of coccidiosis face new challenges. In recent years, a safe and effective new anticoccidial method is needed by the poultry farming, owing to increasing bans of anticoccidial drugs. Recent researches have demonstrated probiotics can prevent coccidiosis-induced secondary infection by competitively excluding colonization of pathogens bacteria and stimulate the secretion of host antibacterial peptides, mucins and tight junction proteins to resist coccidiosis. In addition, it can enhance the anti-coccidial ability by activating the immune response. This review summarizes what is currently known on mechanisms about how probiotics prevent and control coccidiosis by modulating the gut microbiota, ameliorating mucus barrier, affecting function of immune system, to provide a reference for the development of probiotic products to control coccidiosis.