Bromelain can alleviate the negative effects of necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens

Bromelain is a mixture of proteinases derived from the stem and fruit of pineapple (Ananas comosus) and may have additional antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties (Jančič and Gergieva, 2021). This study assessed the effect of dosage and administration methods of a bromelain-containing product (ANR-pf®, Anatara Lifesciences Ltd, Australia), on bird performance under a subclinical necrotic enteritis (NE) challenge.

A total of 540 Ross 308-day-old male chicks were randomly allocated into 6 treatments of 6 replicates each. The bromelain formulation was delivered to chickens via gavaging or in drinking water, twice on d 8 and 13. The treatments details are included in Table 1. Birds were challenged with Eimeria spp. on d 9 and Clostridium perfringens on d 14 and 15. On d 14 and 19, fresh faecal contents were collected to determine oocyst counts.

Both non-challenged groups had improved WG and FCR compared to NE-challenged birds during d 0-35 (P < 0.001). Among NE-challenged-groups, birds administered bromelain in drinking water (T6) showed improved WG (P < 0.001) and lower FCR (P < 0.001) than the nonsupplemented (T3) and gavaged with high dose of bromelain (T5) groups, respectively. Day 19 oocyst counts in NE challenged birds was lower in the water-delivery treatment (T6) compared to the non-supplemented (T3) or the low dose gavage treatment (T4) (P < 0.001).

Although the underlying mechanism of the two administration routes remains unclear, the water delivery method may have extended the contact time of the active compounds of the product, mostly bromelain, which may have contributed to the lower oocyst counts. Bromelain extract has shown to soften the shell wall of oocysts, and cause damage to the central cytoplasmic mass (Daiba et al., 2022). This could have partially led to the improved bird performance observed in this group. In conclusion, the current study suggests that administering this additive in the drinking water of broilers, may ameliorate the negative effects of NE and lead to improved performance of birds.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: This research was funded by Anatara Lifesciences Ltd., Australia.