Dietary butyrate glycerides modulate intestinal microbiota composition and serum metabolites in broilers

Abstract

Butyrate can modulate the immune response and energy expenditure of animals and enhance intestinal health. The present study investigated changes in the intestinal microbiota composition and serum metabolites of young broilers in response to 3,000 ppm butyrate in the form of butyrate glycerides (BG) via pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).