An experiment was conducted to identify the effect of whole yeast cell product supplementation in turkeys following an experimental inflammatory challenge. A total of 105 one-day-old turkey tom poults were fed basal diets supplemented with 0, 0.1, and 0.2% whole yeast cell product (CitriStim, ADM, Quincy, IL). At 6 wk of age and 16 wk of age, turkeys were injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 0 or 0.25 mg/kg of BW in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement. BW gain (P = 0.31) and feed conversion ratio (P = 0.53; 3.13, 2.94, and 2.98 for the 0, 0.10, and 0.20% CitriStim treatments, respectively) at 15 wk of age were not significantly affected by the treatment diets. Yeast cell wall product supplementation had no effect on growth in control-injected turkeys but decreased growth in LPS-injected turkeys (yeast × LPS, P < 0.05). Splenic macrophages from birds fed whole yeast cell product and injected with LPS produced higher (P < 0.01) nitric oxide than the control group injected with LPS at both 6 and 16 wk of age. At 6 and 16 wk of age, birds injected with LPS (P < 0.01; P < 0.01) and supplemented with whole yeast cell product (P = 0.05; P = 0.10) showed increased IL-1 mRNA amounts in cecal tonsils. In birds not injected with LPS, whole yeast cell supplementation increased regulatory T cell percentage and IL-10 mRNA amounts, whereas in birds injected with LPS, whole yeast cell supplementation decreased IL-10 mRNA amounts at both 6 (P < 0.01) and 16 wk (P = 0.01) of age in cecal tonsils. Whole yeast cell product supplementation increased Lactobacillus (P < 0.01 and P = 0.01) and Bifidobacteria (P < 0.01 and P = 0.01) population at 6 and 16 wk of age. In conclusion, the effect of feeding whole yeast cell product on turkeys was dependent on the inflammatory status of the bird.
Keywords: gut health; prebiotic; whole yeast cell.
©2014 Poultry Science Association Inc.