Program update

Program 4: The potential of precision glycans for better chicken gut health

A recent study has revealed the potential benefits of using precision glycans in chicken feed to improve gut health and resilience.

It aimed to understand how precision glycans can control gut colonization and influence the composition of gut microbiota right after chicks being hatched.

Researchers from Central Queensland University in Program 4 found that adding precision glycans to the first feed of day-old chicks significantly altered their gut microbial communities. This change was particularly noticeable in the mucosa, the innermost layer of the gut, which is crucial for maintaining a strong barrier against harmful substances.

The presence of precision glycans in the feed helped reinforce this barrier by influencing gut colonisation at an early stage, potentially making the birds more resilient to gastric stress and improving their overall growth performance.

This research may offer practical information to industry as it suggests that incorporating precision glycans into chicken feed could lead to healthier and more resilient birds, ultimately benefiting farmers and consumers.

The researchers are now moving to the next stage of their experiment, where they will investigate the interactions between precision glycans and probiotics, as well as other beneficial strains of bacteria, to design a more effective and reproducible method for controlled gut colonisation.

The researchers were Maria Whitton, Dana Stanley and Yadav Sharma Bajagai from Central Queensland University in Program 4.