Bacterial clearance, heterophil function, and hematological parameters of transport-stressed turkey poults supplemented with dietary yeast extract.

Yeast extracts (YE) contain biological response modifiers that may be useful as alternatives to antibiotics for controlling pathogens in poultry production and mitigating the deleterious effects of production stressors. The objective of the present study was to determine the ability of a commercial dietary YE (Alphamune) to modulate the immune response in male turkey poults challenged with Escherichia coli and subjected to transport stress. Alphamune was added to turkey poult diets at 0, 500, or 1,000 g/ton. Poults were challenged by air sac injection with 60 cfu of E. coli at 1 wk of age. At 3 wk of age, these challenged birds were subjected to transport stress and birds were bled and necropsied the following morning. Blood cell numbers and percentages, hematological parameters, and clinical chemistry values were determined. Oxidative burst activity of isolated heterophils was measured using stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate and a 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate assay. Data were analyzed using GLM and least squares means procedures of the SAS program. The numbers and percentages of heterophils in peripheral blood were increased and their oxidative burst activity was stimulated by YE. The stress challenge dramatically increased oxidative burst and this increase was significantly modulated by YE treatment. Serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, and triglycerides were decreased and uric acid levels, erythrocyte numbers, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were increased by YE supplementation. Bacteria were isolated from the air sac and liver of a lower percentage of birds provided with YE. These results suggest that dietary YE has potential as a nonantibiotic alternative for decreasing bacterial pathogens in turkey production.

Gastrointestinal maturation is accelerated in turkey poults supplemented with a mannan-oligosaccharide yeast extract (Alphamune).

Alphamune, a yeast extract antibiotic alternative, has been shown to stimulate the immune system, increase BW in pigs, and reduce Salmonella colonization in chickens. The influence of Alphamune on gastrointestinal tract development has not been reported. Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of Alphamune on gut maturation of 7- and 21-d-old turkey poults. Poults were fed a standard control unmedicated turkey starter diet or the same diet supplemented with either 1 or 2 lb/ton of Alphamune (n = 18/group). Poults were weighed on d 7 and 21, euthanized, and a 2-cm section was collected from the midpoint of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of each bird (9 poults/d per treatment) and fixed in a 10% formalin solution for 72 h and then stained. Twenty measurements of villus height, villus surface area, lamina propria thickness, crypt depth, and density of neutral, sialomucin, and sulfomucin goblet cells were taken per section per poult. On d 7, BW were higher for the poults given the Alphamune treatments compared with control poults; however, no differences were observed on d 21. Alphamune supplementation influenced intestinal morphology differently based on gut location. Ileum villus height, surface area, lamina propria thickness, crypt depth, and neutral, sialomucin, and sulfomucin goblet cell density were enhanced with Alphamune treatments on d 7 and 21 (P < 0.05) and in a dose-dependent manner for many of the parameters evaluated. Jejunum results were mixed. Surface area, crypt depth, and sialomucin and sulfomucin goblet cells were consistently higher for the 2 lb/ton of Alphamune groups compared with the control group on d 7 and 21. Duodenum villus height, surface area, and goblet cell density were higher for the 2 lb/ton of Alphamune groups on d 7; however, intestinal morphology of the duodenum was not different between the control and treated birds on d 21. These results suggest that feed supplemented with Alphamune can accelerate gastrointestinal maturation in turkey poults and is more pronounced in the ileum than in other portions of the small intestine.

A new bowel preparation for elective colon and rectal surgery. A prospective, randomized clinical trial.

A two-day cathartic/enema preparation with oral administration of erythromycin and neomycin was compared with an orthograde lavage preparation with oral administration of metronidazole and neomycin in a prospective randomized trial in 300 and 293 eligible patients, respectively, who were undergoing elective colon and rectal surgery. Patients were assessed for infections at six weeks after discharge from the hospital. The major infection rate was less than 1% and the minor infection rate was less than 4%. The overall infection rate was 4.2%. The type of bowel preparation used, the type of operation, and the addition of systemic antibiotic therapy did not affect infection rates significantly. We conclude that this one-day lavage technique, as described, is a safe, effective, economical, and preferred method of colonic preparation for elective colon and rectal surgery.