Prebiotics: An Overview on Their Properties and Mode of Action

Prebiotics, such as inulin and mannan-oligosaccharides, have demonstrated promising outcomes. Prebiotics are non-digestible feed elements that are metabolized by intestinal microbiota members and promote the host’s health. Prebiotics are primarily used to modulate the gut microbiota in a way that benefits the host animal, offering benefits to the intestinal environment as well as the body as a whole. Positive gains in productive metrics, including body weight increase, feed conversion ratio, mortality index, and egg production, have been reported. Additionally, prebiotics have been shown to be successful in lowering the colonization of significant infections. Interestingly, prebiotics are less likely to have adverse effects on the host. In this chapter, we will discuss the main prebiotics used in poultry and their mechanism of action.