In this study, four plant tannins, including AT (Acacia mearnsii tannin, 68%), CT (Castanea sativa tannin, 60%), QT (Schinopsis lorenzii tannin, 73%) and TT (Caesalpinia spinosa tannin, 50%) were added to broiler diets for 42 days to evaluate and compare their effects on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune performance and gut microbiota in broilers. The results showed that the supplementation of five tannins could increase the production of T-AOC, GSH-Px, SOD and CAT and reduce the production of MDA in the serum of broilers (p < 0.01), but the antioxidant effect of the AT group was lower than that of the other three groups (p < 0.01). All four tannins decreased the level of the pro-inflammatory factor IL-1β and increased the level of the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 (p < 0.01). CT, QT and TT decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α (p < 0.01), while AT and CT increased the level of IL-2 in serum (p < 0.01). Supplementation with four tannins also increased the levels of IgG, IgM, IgA and sIgA in serum (p < 0.01) and the levels of ZO-1, claudin-1 and occludin in the jejunum (p < 0.01). The detection results of ALT and AST showed that CT, QT and TT decreased the concentrations of ALT and AST in serum (p < 0.01). The results of the gut microbiota showed that the abundance of Clostridia and Subdoligranulum increased, and the abundance of Oscillospiraceae decreased, compared to the control group after adding the four tannins to the diets (p > 0.05). In addition, CT, QT and TT decreased the abundance of Lactobacillus and increased the abundance of Bacteroides compared to the control group, while AT showed the opposite result (p > 0.05). Overall, our study shows that tannins derived from different plants have their own unique effects on broilers. AT and CT can promote broilers’ growth better than other tannins, CT has the best ability to improve immune and antioxidant properties, and QT and TT have the best effect on broilers’ liver protection.
To investigate the effects of different levels of ramie powder (Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaudich.) (i.e., 0%, 6%, 12% and 24%) on the production performance, serum biochemical indices, antioxidative capacity and intestinal development of Yanling white geese, a total of 256 geese at 56 days of age were randomly divided into four groups and fed a control diet and the control diet supplemented with 6%, 12% and 24% ramie powder, respectively, for 42 days. The results show that dietary supplementation with 12% ramie powder significantly increased the average final weight (p < 0.05) and tended to improve the average daily gain (ADG) and feed/gain ratio (F/G) of the test geese (0.05 < p < 0.10). Moreover, the dietary inclusion of 12 and 24% ramie powder improved meat qualities by reducing the L* value (p < 0.05) and cooking loss (0.05 < p < 0.10) of thigh muscle. Compared with the control group, the ramie powder supplementation at different levels increased the serum activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione, promoting the antioxidative capacity of the body (0.05 < p < 0.10). This study demonstrates that moderate ramie powder is beneficial to the production performance of Yanling white geese and has the potential to be used as a poultry feed ingredient. In conclusion, 12% was the proper supplementation rate of ramie powder in Yanling white geese feed.
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effects of Litsea cubeba essential oil (LCO) on the growth performance, blood antioxidation, immune function, apparent digestibility of nutrients, and fecal microflora in fattening pigs. A total of 120 pigs were randomly assigned to five groups, with six replicate pens per treatment and four pigs per pen, and they were fed basal diet, chlortetracycline (CTC), and low-, medium-, and high-concentration LCO. The results of the study showed that compared with the control treatment and CTC addition treatment of the basic diet, the catalase level in the serum of the pigs treated with 500 mg/kg LCO in the diet of finishing pigs was significantly increased (p < 0.05). The apparent digestibility of crude protein, crude ash, and calcium in pigs with different levels of LCO was significantly increased compared with the control treatments fed the basal diet (p < 0.05). In addition, compared with the control treatment fed the basal diet and the treatment with CTC, the apparent digestibility of ether extract in pigs treated with medium-dose LCO was significantly increased (p < 0.05), and the apparent digestibility of pigs was significantly increased after the addition of low-dose LCO (p < 0.05). Among the genera, the percentage abundance of SMB53 (p < 0.05) was decreased in the feces of the CTC group when compared to that in the medium-LCO group. At the same time, the relative abundance of L7A_E11 was markedly decreased in the feces of the control and medium- and high-concentration LCO group than that in the CTC group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, adding the level of 250 mg/kg LCO in the diet of pig could improve the growth performance and blood physiological and biochemical indicators of pigs, improve the antioxidant level of body and the efficiency of digestion and absorption of nutrients, and show the potential to replace CTC.
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