**3.3 The use of** *Bacillus***-DFM candidate to prevent the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in poultry**

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the predominant mycotoxin produced by several species of *Aspergillus* [97]. This mycotoxin has hepatotoxic and hepatocarcinogenic effects [98]. It has been reported that AFB1 has detrimental effects on performance parameters, which can cause serious economic problems in the poultry industry [99]. Therefore, the control of AFB1 is critical for producers. In this sense, the use of probiotics has proven effective in preventing and controlling the toxic effects of AFB1.

An *in vitro* study performed in our laboratory showed that 3 of 69 *Bacillus* spp. candidates were capable of biodegrading AFB1 since they reduced the fluorescence and area of clearance around each colony [100]. However, when these *Bacillus* spp. were tested in broiler chickens, no significant differences in performance parameters were observed when the groups were compared [101].

Despite the previous results, the *Bacillus*-DFM candidate spores formed by the isolate of *Bacillus subtilis* and the two of *Bacillus amyloliquefaciens* were included in the diets containing AFB1 to determine their effect on performance in broiler chickens fed with 2-ppm AFB1-contaminated diet [unpublished work from our laboratory]. The results are promising since the *Bacillus*-DFM improved performance of broilers, and even, there were no significant differences between the negative control (NC) and DFM group. It was due to the capacity of DFM to produce certain essential nutrients, extracellular enzymes, and growth factors to promote host growth [99, 102] (**Table 9**).

## **4. Conclusions**

As it can be seen, probiotics could be considered a potential alternative to the use of antibiotics in poultry since it has been reported that they can improve the performance, as well as prevent and control enteric pathogens in poultry. However, their applications depend on the type of microorganism. In this regard, since lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are very sensitive to pelletizing processes for feed production (heating), environmental factors, and the low pH of the stomach, as well as the presence of bile salts in the small intestine, their administration in a single dose could be the most viable application especially to prevent bacterial diseases in both *in ovo* and broiler chickens. In contrast, *Bacillus* spp. direct-fed microbials (DFM) can be a better alternative since they are more stable because they can form spores. Therefore, DFM can be included in the feed, and, in addition, the production costs are lower than the microencapsulation and freezing or lyophilization processes that are used to maintain the viability of LAB. Finally, probiotics as *Bacillus*-DFM have also shown beneficial effects in preventing and controlling toxic effects of AFB1. Although the mechanisms by which the DFM reduce the effect of AFB1 are still known, our laboratory is working to elucidate the mechanism.

## **Acknowledgements**

This research was supported by the Arkansas Biosciences Institute under the project: Development of an avian model for evaluation early enteric microbial colonization on the gastrointestinal tract and immune function. The authors thank the CONACyT for the doctoral scholarship number 270728.

**229**

**Author details**

Daniel Hernandez-Patlan1

\*

(UNAM), Cuautitlan Izcalli, Estado de Mexico, Mexico

\*Address all correspondence to: gtellez@uark.edu

provided the original work is properly cited.

and Guillermo Tellez2

, Bruno Solis-Cruz1

1 Laboratorio 5: LEDEFAR, Unidad de Investigacion Multidisciplinaria, Facultad de Estudios Superiores (FES) Cuautitlan, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico

2 Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

, Billy M. Hargis2

*The Use of Probiotics in Poultry Production for the Control of Bacterial Infections and Aflatoxins*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88817*

*The Use of Probiotics in Poultry Production for the Control of Bacterial Infections and Aflatoxins DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88817*
