Use of a balancing food additive of the intestinal flora for broilers and laying

ABSTRACT: The general aspects on the use of zootechnical additives that balance the intestinal flora in diets of broilers and laying were reviewed, highlighting the use of prebiotics, mainly Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS). These promote the growth of microbial population, thus improving luminal conditions. The use of additives balancing the intestinal flora has been shown to improve the integrity of the intestinal epithelium (increased villus height and width), performance (improvement in production and feed conversion), and quality of the final product (quality of shell eggs). This review also addresses issues related to the characteristics, mechanism of action, in addition to the beneficial effects of using these additives as an alternative to antibiotics in the poultry production, including Japanese quail.