Probiotics as a Targeted Strategy for Reducing Heat Stress-Induced Gut Dysbiosis and Improving Poultry Productivity

Md. Al-Amin Sarker

Department of Dairy and Poultry Science, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Debasree Saha

Department of Dairy and Poultry Science, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Md. Raufur Rahman Akanda

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Fahad Ahmed

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh and Department of Microbiology and Public Health, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Md. Mahmudur Rahman

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh and Department of Animal Science and Nutrition, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Md. Mahmudul Islam

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Gazipur Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.

Md. Rimon Bhuiyan *

Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh and Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

Climate changes because of global warming are increasing the intensity of heat stress (HS) for poultry species, with associated implications for overall bird health, intestinal function and productivity. It is important to understand the impact of heat stress on the gut microbiota of birds and evaluate probiotics as a feasible, non-pharmacological approach that can mitigate these effects from a gut microbiota perspective. Many research has shown that heat stress has adversative effects on good bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Also, creates an environment for the opportunistic pathogens like Clostridium sp. and Escherichia sp. and result in leaky gut, hormonal disruptions, systemic inflammation and reduce productivity. Many available probiotic supplements such as single strains (Lactobacillus spp., and Bacillus spp., and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and multi-strain preparations are ideal therapy for these harmful effects. They can help to restore the balance of the microbiota, enhance mucosal barriers (goblet cell functions, villus-crypt structure, mucin expression and tight-junctions), decrease inflammation, enhance feed efficiency, improve egg quality and increase survival rates under heat-stress conditions. The production of bioactive metabolites, food consumption stimulation, the host immunological and neuroendocrine axes induction, competitive exclusion and other potential mechanisms illustrate strain-specific effects from experimental and field trials. In addition to the current limitations and challenges, practical uses are formulation, dosage and integration with housing and feeding systems. Finally, we propose research objectives to develop tailored probiotic products that suit individual production systems and environment in strains specific manner. It is thus indicated that probiotics provide a potential complementary method to protect chickens from high HS-induced hazards.

Keywords: Heat stress, Gut microbiota, probiotics, poultry productivity, intestinal permeability


How to Cite

Sarker, Md. Al-Amin, Debasree Saha, Md. Raufur Rahman Akanda, Fahad Ahmed, Md. Mahmudur Rahman, Md. Mahmudul Islam, and Md. Rimon Bhuiyan. 2026. “Probiotics As a Targeted Strategy for Reducing Heat Stress-Induced Gut Dysbiosis and Improving Poultry Productivity”. Journal of Advances in Food Science & Technology 13 (2):154-79. https://doi.org/10.56557/jafsat/2026/v13i210570.

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