Effects of vitamin B2 supplementation in broilers microbiota and metabolome

The study of microbiome in broilers holds great promises for the development of strategies for health maintenance and performance improvement. Nutritional strategies aimed at modulating microbiota-host relationship can improve chickens immunological status and metabolic fitness. Here, we present the results of a pilot trial aimed at analyzing the effects of a nutritional strategy involving vitamin B2 supplementation on ileum, caeca and litter microbiota of Ross 308 broilers, as well as on the metabolic profile of the caecal content. Three groups of chickens were administered control diet and diets supplemented with two different dosages of vitamin B2. Ileum, caeca and litter samples were obtained from subgroups of birds at 3 time points along the productive cycle. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA V3-V4 region and NMR metabolomics were used to explore microbiota composition and the concentration of metabolites of interests, including short-chain fatty acids. Vitamin B2 supplementation significantly modulated caeca microbiota, with the highest dosage being the more effective in increasing the abundance of health promoting bacterial groups, including Bifidobacterium, resulting in a boosted production of butyrate, a well-known health-promoting metabolite, in the caeca environment.