Can probiotic or prebiotic yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) serve as alternatives to in-feed antibiotics for healthy or disease-challenged broiler chickens?: a review

The ban on the use of antibiotics in feed for broiler chickens in some parts of the world, coupled with increasing consumer demand for antibiotics-free poultry products, has in recent decades increased the interest of poultry researchers and producers to identify suitable alternatives to such antibiotics. One such alternative is yeast (S. cerevisiae). This review discusses the potential of probiotic and prebiotic yeast (S. cerevisiae) to increase productivity in healthy or disease-challenged broiler chickens. A brief description of the mechanisms of action, efficacy, reasons for inconsistent results, and ways to improve consistency in results are discussed. We conclude that there is convincing evidence that probiotic and prebiotic yeast products can replace in-feed antibiotics in broiler chicken production; however, there is a need for more testing in order to achieve consistency. A combination of appropriate yeast products alongside proper husbandry practices and bio-security measures could significantly reduce the observed inconsistencies, maximize broiler productivity and pave the way to a global antibiotic-free era in meat production.