ARTICLE 62 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE December 2022 HOMEOSTASIS – THE GOLDEN PATH TO EFFICIENT POULTRY PRODUCTION “The gut harbors the largest part of the cells of the immune system and is home to a wide variety of commensal bacteria. In the highly intensive broiler industry where antibiotics as growth promoters are banned, it is critical to boost gut health by promoting nutritional strategies focusing on intestinal barrier strengthening, oxidative stress reduction, pathogen prevention and microbiota and immune modulation.” The gut is the largest organ of the body that is exposed to the external environment while exerting several complex functions. The most wellknown function of the gastro-intestinal tract is digestion of feed and absorption of nutrients. Besides digestion, the intestinal mucosa functions as a barrier preventing the passage of toxins and pathogens. The gut harbors the largest part of the cells of the immune system and is home to a wide variety of commensal bacteria. As an optimal gastrointestinal functionality is essential for an efficacious and sustainable animal production, it is becoming globally accepted that gut health is an important physiological condition intertwined with overall health (Bischoff 2011). In 2016, gut health was defined as ‘the absence/prevention/avoidance of disease so that the animal can perform its physiological functions in order to withstand exogenous and endogenous stressors (Kogut 2016). Later on, Celi et al., proposed that gut health would be defined as ‘a steady state, where the microbiome and the intestinal tract exist in symbiotic equilibrium, and where the welfare and performance of the animal are not constrained by intestinal dysfunction’. It shows that holistically, gut health is the result of complex interactions of various components of the gut, the host animals, and the environment to maintain homeostasis (Wickramasuriya et al., 2022). A variety of factors including management, pathogen pressure and diet can affect the gut health status of the animal, leading to microbiome dysbiosis, disturbance of the intestinal homeostasis with gut mucosal barrier leakage and inflammation (Zhu et al. 2021). Consequently, in the highly intensive broiler industry where antibiotics as growth promoters are banned, it is critical to boost gut health by promoting nutritional strategies focusing on intestinal barrier strengthening, oxidative stress reduction, pathogen prevention and microbiota and immune modulation. Based on advanced, science-proven yeast solutions, Phileo by Lesaffre has developed a dedicated gut health program focusing on the 4 key specific pillars mentioned above, to help birds to maintain homeostasis, be more resilient to stresses and reach greater production performance. Dr. Ruth Raspoet Poultry R&D Manager Phileo by Lesaffre
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