Effects of dietary sodium butyrate on hepatic biotransformation and pharmacokinetics of erythromycin in chickens.

Butyrate, a commonly applied feed additive in poultry nutrition, can modify the expression of certain genes, including those encoding cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. In comparative in vitro and in vivo experiments, the effect of butyrate on hepatic CYP genes was examined in primary cultures of chicken hepatocytes and in liver samples of chickens collected from animals that had been given butyrate as a feed additive. Moreover, the effect of butyrate on the biotransformation of erythromycin, a marker substance for the activity of enzymes of the CYP3A family, was investigated in vitro and in vivo. Butyrate increased the expression of the avian-specific CYP2H1 both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, the avian CYP3A37 expression was decreased in hepatocytes following butyrate exposure, but not in the in vivo model. CYP1A was suppressed by butyrate in the in vitro experiments, and overexpressed in vivo in butyrate-fed animals. The concomitant incubation of hepatocytes with butyrate and erythromycin led to an increased CYP2H1 expression and a less pronounced inhibition of CYP3A37. In in vivo pharmacokinetic experiments, butyrate-fed animals given a single i.m. injection of erythromycin, a slower absorption phase (longer T(half-abs) and delayed T(max)) but a rapid elimination phase of this marker substrate was observed. Although these measurable differences were detected in the pharmacokinetics of erythromycin, it is unlikely that a concomitant application of sodium butyrate with erythromycin or other CYP substrates will cause clinically significant feed-drug interaction in chickens.

Lactobacillus plantarum 2142 prevents intestinal oxidative stress in optimized in vitro systems.

Recently, there has been a growing interest to replace antibiotics' administration with the application of probiotics. The aim of our investigations was to reveal the influence of spent culture supernatant of Lactobacillus plantarum 2142 on the response of enterocytes to oxidative stress, and the spent culture supernatant's ability to protect them from oxidative injury. The experiments were performed on non-carcinogenic porcine epithelial cell line, IPEC-J2 isolated from a neonatal piglet and on human colon adenocarcinoma cell line, Caco-2. The cells cultured on membrane inserts were treated with millimolar hydrogen peroxide solution to provoke oxidative stress. The peroxide-triggered cell response profile was evaluated via determination of change in transepithelial electrical resistance, quantification of extent of cell death by 4',6-diamidino-2 phenylindole (DAPI) staining and via estimation of proinflammatory cytokine, IL-8 production using ELISA technique. Non-starter lactobacilli supernatant-mediated inhibition of peroxide-triggered upregulation of IL-8 production confirmed the antiinflammatory properties of active metabolites produced by Lactobacillus plantarum 2142 in acute oxidative stress.

Efficacy of protected sodium butyrate, a protected blend of essential oils, their combination, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens spore suspension against artificially induced necrotic enteritis in broilers.

Necrotic enteritis caused by Clostridium perfringens leads to serious economical losses to the poultry industry. There is a growing need to find effective, nontoxic, antibiotic alternatives to prevent and cure the disease. In our study, the efficacy of protected sodium butyrate at 1.5 g/kg (BP70), a Bacillus amyloliquefaciens spore suspension with 10(9) cfu/g (BAL; Ecobiol), a protected blend of essential oils (1%) at 1.5 g/kg (EO), and a combination of sodium butyrate with essential oils (1%) protected with vegetable fat at 1.5 g/kg (BP70+EO; Natesse) was investigated in an artifical C. perfringens-infection model. Body weight gain, gross pathological and histopathological lesion scores, villus lengths, and villus length:crypt depth ratio was determined and compared with the control group. Broilers infected with C. perfringens and treated with essential oils or the combination of sodium butyrate and essential oils showed significantly better BW gain (P < 0.05), increased villus length and villus length:crypt depth ratio (P < 0.001), and decreased gross pathological and histopathological lesion scores (P < 0.05) compared with the control. Sodium butyrate alone and B. amyloliquefaciens spore suspension had no beneficial effects on the course of the disease in this study. According to our results, the protected combination of sodium butyrate and essential oils, as well as the protected essential oils, can be potential candidates for the prevention and treatment of necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens.