Eimeria infection-related intestinal dynamics and microbiome, growth performance, and nutrient utilization in broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with multienzyme

Abstract Coccidiosis is an infectious parasitic disease. Increasing drug resistance and variable vaccine effectiveness have stimulated interests in developing alternate control strategies. Our research studied the effects of dietary supplementation of multienzyme (phytase, xylanase, β-glucanase, amylase, hemicellulase, and pectinase) in broiler chickens infected with coccidial pathogens by assessing (i) nutrient utilization, immunological response, and gut health-related indicators in small intestine; and (ii) intestinal microbiome modulations. One-day-old male Ross 708 chicks were assigned to 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement comprising of 0 or 50 g·kg−1 multienzyme and oral challenge with phosphate buffer saline or mixed Eimeria spp. oocysts (250000 E. acervulina, 50000 E. maxima, and 50000 E. tenella). Multienzyme reduced (P < 0.05) Eimeria-induced loss in feed efficiency and nutrient utilization, partially explained by reduced decrease of b0,+ amino acid transporter in jejunum. Multienzyme suppressed (P < 0.05) the overexpression of interleukin-8 in duodenum and jejunum and ameliorated (P = 0.05) the decreased expression of antioxidant heme oxygenase 1 in ileum induced by Eimeria infection. Multienzyme facilitated (P < 0.01) the bloom of short-chain fatty acid-producing and fiber-degrading microbes. Multienzyme supplementation partly mitigated the adverse effects of Eimeria infection through multiple mechanisms: improving nutrient utilization, reducing local inflammation, and restoring microbial homeostasis.