Adding insoluble fiber to diet of broilers has been reported to improve intestinal health and promote growth performance. Bamboo powder is a cheap raw material with rich insoluble fiber. This study aims to explore the effects of feeding micronized bamboo powder (MBP) on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, intestinal microflora, and metabolism of broilers. A total of 1440 1-day-old slow-growing Ephedra chickens were randomly divided into three groups considering gender and body weight: (1) Group D: feeding with basal diet without antibiotics; (2) Group E: feeding with basal diet supplemented with 5% rice bran (RB); (3) Group F: feeding with basal diet supplemented with 1% MBP. Each group involved 8 replicates feeding for 22 days, with 60 chickens per replicate. Various indexes were detected. For the growth performance, the weight gain and feed consumption ratio (G: F) of Group F supplemented with MBP is 0.57 ± 0.04, which is significantly higher than that of E group supplemented with RB (0.52 ± 0.01, P < 0.05). For the serum biochemical indexes, the glutathione peroxidase activity in Group F is significantly higher than that of Group D, while the malondialdehyde content is significantly lower than that of Group D and Group E (P < 0.05 for all). The fresh cecal chyme is taken for determination. In Group F, the α diversity index Faith_pd is significantly lower in Group F than that of Group D. The microorganism species in cecal chyme of Group F and Group E are also different. The metabolic pathways of Group F, mainly in fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and intestinal immune IgA production, were different from those of Group D and Group E. Adding 1% MBP to broiler diet can enhance the anti-oxidant capacity, improve chyme microflora, regulate the metabolism pathways responsible for intestinal fatty acids, amino acids, and immunity.

IntroductionThis study was conducted to explore the effects of supplementary feeding of bamboo powder on the physical parameters of sows during the perinatal period of 7 days ± in parturition, including farrow duration, serum biochemical indexes, fecal physicochemical indexes, and microbial flora.MethodsThirty pregnant sows were randomly divided into three groups: the control group was fed a basal diet, TRE1 group and TRE2 group were fed a basal diet supplemented with 30 g d−1 and 60 g d−1 bamboo powder, respectively. Multiple parameters of sows and offspring piglets were determined.ResultsThe contents of serum total cholesterol and triglyceride of sows in TRE2 group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The contents of serum malondialdehyde of sows in TRE2 and TRE1 groups were significantly lower than that in control group. The water content of sow feces in TRE2 group was significantly higher than that in control group, and the pH values of sows in TRE2 and TRE1 groups were significantly higher than that in control group. The richness index (Chao) of sow fecal bacterial community in TRE2 group was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the Ace and Sobs indexes tended to be lower than those of the control group. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Actinobacteriota in the feces of sows in TRE2 group was significantly lower than that of the control group, while that of Fusobacteriota in the feces of suckling piglets in TRE2 group tended to be lower than that of the control group. At the genus level, among the Top10 dominant bacteria, the relative abundance of Tissierella in the feces of sows in TRE2 group was significantly lower than that of the control group while that of Fusobacterium in the feces of suckling piglets in TRE2 group tended to be lower than that of the control group. The relative abundance of Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Terrisporobacter, Turicibacter, and Tissierella in the feces of sows in TRE2 group was significantly lower than that of TRE1 group (p &lt; 0.05), while Lactobacillus tended to be higher than that of TRE1 group (p &lt; 0.10).DiscussionThe results suggested that supplementary feeding 60 g d−1 bamboo powder could increase the water content in the feces of sows, reduce the oxidative damage, and tend to reduce the relative abundance of opportunistic pathogenic Fusobacterium for suckling piglets, while it reduced the fecal microbial diversity of sows.

Context.Our previous study has revealed that micronized bamboo powder (MBP) can promote the growth performance of broilers aged 1-22 days (d) by improving oxidation resistance, balancing intestinal microflora and regulating metabolic pathways. Aims. This study further evaluates the effects of MBP on broilers aged 24-45 d. Methods.In this experiment, eight hundred and eighty (880) slow-growing spotted-brown broilers aged 22 d were pre-fed for 2 days, and then randomly divided into two groups according to weight and gender. There were 8 replicates in each group and 55 broilers in each replicate. The trial lasted for 21 d. The broilers in the control group were fed with an antibiotic-free basal diet (denoted as Group D), and the broilers in the experimental group were supplemented with 1% MBP based on an antibiotic-free basal diet (denoted as Group F). Key results. For the growth performance, during 24-45 d, no significant difference is observed between Group F and the control group, in average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and the weight gain and feed consumption ratio (P>0.05). For intestinal development, the broilers in Group F exhibit a significantly higher organ index of the cecum, jejunum villus height, and ratio of villi to crypt, compared to the control group (P<0.05). For the cecal chyme microflora, the abundance ratio of Firmicutes is higher, while the abundance ratio of Bacterodies is relatively lower than that of the control group. The addition of MBP significantly up-regulates the expression abundance of p_Firmicutes, f_Alicyclobacillaceae, g_Acutalibacter, f_Peptococcaceae, f_Clostridiaceae, f_Bacillaceae, g_Enterococcus, f_Enterococcasea, whiledown-regulates the expression abundance of p_Bacteroidetes, f_Bacteroidaceae, g_Bacteroides, o_Bacteroidales and c_Bacteroidia (P<0.05). For the metabolic pathways, 66 different pathways are observed between Group F and control group, including Alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid metabolism, Butyric acid metabolism, Arginine synthesis, Linoleic acid metabolism and β-alanine metabolism. The correlation analysis reveals that Firmicutes in cecal chyme are significantly positively correlated with some fatty acids, including syringic acid, 3-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid, 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid, and butyric acid (P < 0.05). And the Bacterodies are positively correlated with some amino acids, including L-Alanine, L-Threonine, 3-Methylthiopropionic acid and L-Glutamic acid (P<0.05). Conslusions. To sum up, adding 1%MBP to replace corn equivalently has no negative effect on the growth performance of broilers. This may be related to the fact that MBP can improve intestinal development, and increase the content of bacteria that promote fatty acid metabolism and fiber degradation. Implications.MBP can be used as beneficial fiber for broilers. It is necessary to further study the effects of MBP on amino acid metabolism by regulating the microflora structure in the chyme.

Our previous study has revealed that micronized bamboo powder (MBP) can promote the growth performance of broilers aged 1-22 days (d) by improving oxidation resistance, balancing intestinal microflora and regulating metabolic pathways. This study further evaluates the effects of MBP on broilers aged 24-45 d. In this experiment, eight hundred and eighty (880) slow-growing spotted-brown broilers aged 22 d were pre-fed for 2 days, and then randomly divided into two groups according to weight and gender. There were 8 replicates in each group and 55 broilers in each replicate. The trial lasted for 21 d. The broilers in the control group were fed with an antibiotic-free basal diet (denoted as Group D), and the broilers in the experimental group were supplemented with 1% MBP based on an antibiotic-free basal diet (denoted as Group F). The results reveal that, for the growth performance, during 24-45 d, no significant difference is observed between Group F and the control group, in average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and the weight gain and feed consumption ratio (P>0.05). For intestinal development, the broilers in Group F exhibit a significantly higher organ index of the cecum, jejunum villus height, and ratio of villi to crypt, compared to the control group (P<0.05). For the cecal chyme microflora, the abundance ratio of Firmicutes is higher, while the abundance ratio of Bacterodies is relatively lower than that of the control group. The addition of MBP significantly up-regulates the expression abundance of p_Firmicutes, f_Alicyclobacillaceae, g_Acutalibacter, f_Peptococcaceae, f_Clostridiaceae, f_Bacillaceae, g_Enterococcus, f_Enterococcasea, while down-regulates the expression abundance of p_Bacteroidetes, f_Bacteroidaceae, g_Bacteroides, o_Bacteroidales and c_Bacteroidia (P<0.05). For the metabolic pathways, 66 different pathways are observed between Group F and control group, including Alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid metabolism, Butyric acid metabolism, Arginine synthesis, Linoleic acid metabolism and β-alanine metabolism. The correlation analysis reveals that Firmicutesin cecal chyme are significantly positively correlated with some fatty acids, including syringic acid, 3-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid, 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid, and butyric acid (P < 0.05). And the Bacterodiesare positively correlated with some amino acids, including L-Alanine, L-Threonine, 3-Methylthiopropionic acid and L-Glutamic acid (P<0.05). To sum up, adding 1%MBP to replace corn equivalently has no negative effect on the growth performance of broilers. This may be related to the fact that MBP can improve intestinal development, and increase the content of bacteria that promote fatty acid metabolism and fiber degradation. It is necessary to further study the effects of MBP on amino acid metabolism and broiler growth by regulating the microflora structure in the chyme.

Context.Our previous study has revealed that micronized bamboo powder (MBP) can promote the growth performance of broilers aged 1-22 days (d) by improving oxidation resistance, balancing intestinal microflora and regulating metabolic pathways. Aims. This study further evaluates the effects of MBP on the growth performance, intestinal development, cecal chyme microflora and metabolic pathway of broilers aged 24-45 d. Methods.In this experiment, eight hundred and eighty (880) slow-growing spotted-brown broilers aged 22 d were pre-fed for 2 d, and then randomly divided into two groups according to weight and gender. There were 8 replicates in each group and 55 broilers (23 female and 22 male) in each replicate. The trial lasted for 21 d. The broilers in the control group were fed with an antibiotic-free basal diet (Group CON), and the broilers in the experimental group were supplemented with 1% MBP based on the CON diet to replace 1% corn (Group MBP). Key results. For the growth performance, during 24-45 d, no significant difference was observed between Group MBP and Group CON, in average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and the weight gain and feed consumption ratio (P > 0.05). For intestinal development, the broilers in Group MBP exhibited a significantly higher organ index of the cecum, jejunum villus height, and ratio of villi to crypt, compared to Group CON (P < 0.05). For the cecal chyme microflora, the abundance ratio of Firmicutes was higher, while the abundance ratio of Bacterodies was relatively lower than that of Group CON. The addition of MBP significantly up-regulated the abundance of p_Firmicutes, f_Alicyclobacillaceae, g_Acutalibacter, f_Peptococcaceae, f_Clostridiaceae, f_Bacillaceae, g_Enterococcus, f_Enterococcasea, whiledown-regulating the abundance of p_Bacteroidetes, f_Bacteroidaceae, g_Bacteroides, o_Bacteroidales and c_Bacteroidia (P < 0.05). For the metabolic pathways, 66 different pathways were observed between Group MBP and Group CON, including alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid metabolism, butyric acid metabolism, arginine synthesis, linoleic acid metabolism and β-alanine metabolism. The correlation analysis revealed that Firmicutesin cecal chyme were significantly positively correlated with some fatty acids, including syringic acid, 3-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid, 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid, and butyric acid (P < 0.05). The Bacterodieswere positively correlated with some amino acids, including L-Alanine, L-Threonine, 3-Methylthiopropionic acid and L-Glutamic acid (P < 0.05). MBP might be beneficial forcertain fatty acid metabolismand harmful for certain amino acid metabolism by regulating microflora. Conclusions. Taken together, adding 1% MBP to replace corn equivalently has no negative effect on the growth performance of broilers. This may be related to the fact that MBP can improve intestinal development, and increase the content of bacteria that promote fatty acid metabolism and fiber degradation. Implications.MBP can be used as beneficial fiber for broilers. It is necessary to further study the appropriate addition level or alternative of MBP in diet of broilers.