Effect of synbiotics on broilers exposed to subclinical doses of fumonisins and deoxynivalenol

Authors: DASIREDDY, JOSEPH RISHITHA - University Of Georgia; KAPPARI, LAHARIKA - University Of Georgia; PENDER, CHASITY - Dsm; DOUPOVEC, BARBARA - Dsm; MURUGESAN, GHANAPATHI RAJ - Dsm; RAMIREZ, SHELBY - Dsm; SELVARAJ, RAMESH - University Of Georgia; APPLEGATE, TODD - University Of Georgia; Shanmugasundaram, Revathi

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/9/2025
Publication Date: 9/12/2025
Citation: Dasireddy, J., Kappari, L., Pender, C., Doupovec, B., Murugesan, G., Ramirez, S., Selvaraj, R.K., Applegate, T.J., Shanmugasundaram, R. 2025. Effect of synbiotics on broilers exposed to subclinical doses of fumonisins and deoxynivalenol. Poultry Science. 105, 12:105809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2025.105809.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2025.105809

Interpretive Summary: Mycotoxins are harmful substances produced by fungi that typically contaminate poultry feed and when consumed reduce chicken growth and impair health. These toxins, found in corn-based feed, can cause damage to the gut and immune system, and decrease the growth in chickens. This study tested a synbiotic- a mix of beneficial bacteria (probiotics) and their food source (prebiotics)- to see if synbiotics could protect broiler chickens from low levels of mycotoxins exposure particularly fumonisins and deoxynivalenol. The results showed that mycotoxins reduced body weight gain and damaged the gut and decreased the immune response. However, adding synbiotics improved weight gain by 6.9%, repaired gut damage, and boosted immune cell function. It also reduced inflammation in the liver, helping chickens stay healthier. This study suggests that synbiotics can counteract the negative effects of mycotoxins in poultry feed, improving chicken growth and health without relying on antibiotics. These findings could help farmers produce healthier chickens and reduce economic losses from mycotoxin contamination in the U.S.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to identify the efficiency of a synbiotic that contains B. animalis, P. acidilactici, E. faecium, and fructooligosaccharides on the production performance and immune responses when birds were exposed to subclinical doses of combined fumonisins (FUM), deoxynivalenol (DON), and zearalenone (ZEN). A total of 360 one-day-old Cobb 500 chicks were randomly allocated to four treatments with six replicates per group in a 2×2 factorial arrangement (n=6). The treatment groups were Control, Mycotoxin, Synbiotic at 0.05% (PoultryStar BRO, dsm-firmenich), and Mycotoxin + Synbiotic at 0.05%. The analyzed mycotoxin content of the basal and mycotoxin diets was 2.4 mg FUM + 1 mg DON + 0.07 mg ZEN and 8.5 mg FUM + 3.8 mg DON + 0.6 mg ZEN per kg of feed, respectively. The data was analyzed using a two-way ANOVA. There were no significant interaction effects of mycotoxin and synbiotic on the production performance of broiler chickens throughout the study. On d35, synbiotic supplementation led to a significant increase in BWG (p < 0.05). On d21, a significant interaction effect was observed between mycotoxin and synbiotic supplementation on the jejunal crypt depth. The synbiotic supplementation significantly increased the jejunal crypt depth of chickens fed mycotoxin-contaminated diets (p < 0.05). On d35, there were significant interactions between mycotoxin and synbiotic supplementation on gut morphological parameters and occludin mRNA expression among treatment groups. Synbiotic supplementation significantly increased ileal villus length in birds fed mycotoxin-contaminated diets (p < 0.05). On d35, there were significant interactions between mycotoxin and synbiotic supplementation on immune parameters like CD8+ T cell percentage in spleen and cecal tonsils (p < 0.05). Similarly, significant interaction effects were observed in TNFa and IFN' cytokines expression in the spleen (p < 0.05). The synbiotic supplementation significantly increased CD8+ T cell percentage in the spleen and cecal tonsils and significantly down regulated the spleen TNFa and IFN' mRNA expression in the mycotoxin-contaminated treatment groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, synbiotics had a positive impact on BWG, gut morphometrics, and immune parameters, thereby alleviating the adverse effects of subclinical doses of fusarium mycotoxins. Keywords: Mycotoxins, Synbiotic, Growth performance, cytokines, CD8+: CD4+