The study was conducted to evaluate the performance indices, gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and lactic acid concentration and pH value in ileal and cecal digesta of 42-day-old broilers fed a diet supplemented with lignocellulose. A total of 48, 21-day-old male Ross 308 chickens were divided into 4 treatment groups with 6 replicates per treatment. Experimental diets were based on maize, wheat, triticale, soybean meal and varied in the amount of lignocellulose: 0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0%. There was no significant effect of lignocellulose inclusion into the diet on broiler performance indices. Ileal Lactobacillus spp. as well as ileal and cecal Bifidobacterium spp. populations increased (P<0.05) and the number of Escherichia coli and Clostridium spp. significantly decreased in birds fed diets supplemented with lignocellulose. The sum of SCFAs and lactic acid in both intestine segments as well as acetic and propionic acids in ileal and lactic acid level in cecal digesta of chickens fed a diet with 0.5% lignocellulose were significantly higher compared to the control birds. The results show that inclusion of lignocellulose in the chicken diet, especially at a dose of 0.5%, promotes the growth of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp., reduces the number of E. coli and Clostridium spp. as well as enhances the concentration of SCFAs and lactic acid with no substantial effect on the pH of ileal and cecal digesta. The intensity of fermentation and substantial amounts of the lactic acid and individual SCFAs, particularly acetic and propionic acids, may suggest the prebiotic effect of lignocellulose on the broiler gastrointestinal tract.

Key words: Chicken, Intestinal microflora, Lignocellulose, Short-chain fatty acid