Assessment of Fermented Soybean Meal on Salmonella typhimurium Infection in Neonatal Turkey Poults

This study's objective was to evaluate the effect of the fermented soybean meal (FSBM) on Salmonella typhimurium (ST) to turkey poults using two models of infection. In the prophylactic model, one-day-old turkeys were randomly allocated to one of four different groups (n = 30 turkeys/group): (1) Control group, (2) FSBM group, (3) Control group challenged with ST (Control + ST), and (4) FSBM group challenged with ST (FSBM + ST). On day 9 of age, all poults were orally challenged with 10⁶ colony forming units (CFU) ST and 24 h post-inoculation, intestinal samples were collected to determine ST recovery and morphometric analysis. Blood samples were collected to evaluate serum fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-d). In the therapeutic model, a similar experimental design was used, but turkeys were orally gavaged 10⁴ CFU ST on day 1, and samples were collected at day 7. FSBM improved performance and reduced leaky gut in both experimental infective models. In the prophylactic model, FSBB induced morphology changes in the mucosa. Although the strains (Lactobacillus salivarius and Bacillus licheniformis) used for the fermentation process showed in vitro activity against ST, no significant effect was observed in vivo. The fermentation with different beneficial bacteria and different inclusion rates of FSBM requires further investigation.