Effect of dietary glutamine supplementation on Salmonella colonization in the ceca of young broiler chicks

Live poultry is an important vehicle for transmitting Salmonella Typhimurium to humans that have salmonellosis. It is therefore imperative to reduce Salmonella Typhimurium levels in the gastrointestinal tract of live chickens. Glutamine is an established immunonutrient that is capable of alleviating disease conditions in humans and rats. Thus, 2 experiments that used Ross broiler chicks were conducted to evaluate the effect of glutamine supplementation at 1% level of the diet on cecal Salmonella Typhimurium levels in young broiler chicks. Experiment 1 consisted of i) treatment 1 (control, CN), in which chicks were given an unmedicated corn-soybean meal basal starter diet without glutamine supplementation or Salmonella Typhimurium challenge; ii) treatment 2 (CST), in which chicks were given the same diet as CN but challenged with 3.6 × 106 cfu Salmonella Typhimurium/mL at 3 d of age; and iii) treatment 3 (GST), in which chicks were given the unmedicated corn-soybean meal basal starter diet supplemented with glutamine at 1% level, and challenged with 3.6 × 106 cfu at 3 d of age. Experiment 2 used similar treatments (CN, CST, and GST), except that chicks in CST and GST were challenged with 7.4 × 107 cfu Salmonella Typhimurium/mL, and a fourth treatment was added. The fourth treatment consisted of chicks that were not challenged with Salmonella Typhimurium but given the same diet as in GST. Duration of each experiment was 14 d. Growth performance of chicks was monitored weekly, and cecal Salmonella Typhimurium concentration was microbiologically enumerated on d 4, 10, or 11 postchallenge. Results showed that glutamine supplementation improved BW and BW gain in experiment 2 (P < 0.05) but did not reduce cecal Salmonella Typhimurium levels in either experiment (P > 0.05). The optimum supplemental level of glutamine that will enhance intestinal resistance to Salmonella Typhimurium colonization should be determined. © 2010 Poultry Science Association Inc.