Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid naturally produced by microbiota in the lower gut of chicken. It enhances gut integrity and maturity and acts as a primary energy source for enterocytes. To extend its benefits in chickens' digestive tract, protected butyrate sources are supplemented in the feed. The current study aims to characterize the effects of a mixture of mono-, di-, and triglycerides of butyrate on avian enterocyte resistance to pathogen colonization. This in vitro study shows that the butyric-glycerides (BG) mixture directly enhances the 8E11 chicken enterocytes' resistance to microbial pathogens. Unlike sodium butyrate (SB), treatments with butyric glycerides at 2 mM notably reduced the adhesion levels of Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella Typhimurium to enterocytes by 84 and 60%, respectively (P 2 levels in gut lumen in vivo, thereby favouring the development of anaerobic commensal bacteria and inhibiting the colonization of aerobic and facultative anaerobes, including potential pathogens. In summary, our results suggest that including butyric glycerides in poultry feed is a promising strategy to enhance disease resistance not only by the described antimicrobial properties of α-monoglycerides, but also via the enhancement of enterocytes' resistance against pathogen adhesion and toxicity. Collectively, these effects may promote chicken resilience and enhance their resistance to bacterial challenges.
Mellouk et al. (2026) studied this question.