Efeitos do Lactiplantibacillus plantarum inoculado em embriões de galinhas infectados com Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli.

Abstract

The study evaluated the effect of the probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP) on chicken embryos challenged with avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) and its influence on chick quality. Ross-line embryos, with 18 days of development, were inoculated with APEC and divided into three groups of 25 eggs each: Positive Control, inoculated with APEC only; Negative Control, inoculated with 0.85% saline; and Test Group, inoculated with APEC and L. plantarum. After incubation until the 21st day, results showed mortality rates of 0% (0/25) in the negative control group, 48.14% (12/25) in the positive control, and 44.44% (11/25) in the group treated with LP. Although there was no significant difference in mortality between the infected groups, the navel quality showed distinct outcomes: 78% (19/25) of chicks in the positive control group had poorly healed navels, whereas only 30.76% (7/25) of those treated with LP presented this issue. These data suggest that LP administration may improve chick quality by reducing the incidence of poorly healed navels in embryos infected by APEC. The findings indicate that the use of probiotics such as LP may be a promising strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of APEC infection in chicken embryos, contributing to the health and quality of chicks after hatching