Immune Responses in Broiler Chickens Supplemented with Prebiotic, Probiotic, Their Combination and G-Probiotic Spl.

The immune responses in terms of relative spleen, bursa of Fabricius and thymus weights, absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) and hemagglutination inhibition titers (HIT) against New Castle disease were studied upon supplementation of lactose (2.5% in drinking water) as prebiotic, Lactobacillus acidophilus (0.1% in drinking water) as probiotic, their combination and G –Probiotic Spl® (0.5% in diet), a commercial probiotic preparation in broiler chickens on day 21 and 42 of age. The relative organ weights were numerically increased in supplemented groups indicating the improvement of immune response in broiler chickens. The ALC values (8481.1 ± 265.2 to 1088.3 ± 141.4) on both day 21 and 42 were significantly increased (P<0.05) in supplemented groups indicating better immune response that could be attributed to immunostimulatory effect of either prebiotics or probiotics in the intestines. The HIT levels (6.5 ± 0.24 to 6.9 ± 0.16) did not differ significantly (P>0.05) between the supplemented groups and control groups. It was concluded that the prebiotics, probiotics, their combination and G-Probiotic Spl® could improve the immune response in broiler chickens and maintain good health status.