The contamination of deoxynivalenol (DON) in feed is a global problem, which seriously threatens the productivity efficiency and welfare of farm animals and the food security of humans. Pig is the most sensitive species to DON, and is readily exposed to DON through its grain-enriched diet. The intestine serves as the first biological barrier to ingested mycotoxin, and is, therefore, the first target of DON. In the past decade, a growing amount of attention has been paid to plant-derived polyphenols as functional compounds against DON-induced oxidative stress and intestinal toxicity in pigs. In this review, we systematically updated the latest research progress in plant polyphenols detoxifying DON-induced intestinal toxicity in swine. We also discussed the potential underlying mechanism of action of polyphenols as Nrf2 activators in protecting against DON-induced enterotoxicity of swine. The output of this update points out an emerging research direction, as polyphenols have great potential to be developed as feed additives for swine to counteract DON-induced oxidative stress and intestinal toxicity.

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Oxidative stress and in-feed antibiotics restrictions have accelerated the development of natural, green, safe feed additives for swine and poultry diets. Lycopene has the greatest antioxidant potential among the carotenoids, due to its specific chemical structure. In the past decade, increasing attention has been paid to lycopene as a functional additive for swine and poultry feed. In this review, we systematically summarized the latest research progress on lycopene in swine and poultry nutrition during the past ten years (2013–2022). We primarily focused on the effects of lycopene on productivity, meat and egg quality, antioxidant function, immune function, lipid metabolism, and intestinal physiological functions. The output of this review highlights the crucial foundation of lycopene as a functional feed supplement for animal nutrition.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary rare earth (RE) supplementation on production performance, egg quality, serum biochemical parameters, antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology, and gut microbiota in late-phase laying hens. A total of 960 Lohmann Pink laying hens (380 d old) were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary treatments in a 21-day feeding trial. There were 6 replicates in each treatment, with 32 hens per replicate. The five experimental diets were supplemented with 0, 150, 300, 450, and 600 g/t RE in the basal diet. Compared with the control group, hens fed the 150 g/t RE diet had a greater average egg weight during the third week of the experimental period (p < 0.05). However, dietary 150, 300, or 600 g/t RE supplementation decreased the eggshell thickness of laying hens compared to that of the control group (p < 0.05). No differences were observed in the serum biochemical parameters of laying hens among treatments except for the HDL-C concentration, which was higher in the 300 or 450 g/t RE-supplemented group than in the control group (p < 0.05). However, GSH-Px activity increased when hens were fed the 600 vs. 0 g/t RE diet (p < 0.05). But dietary supplementation with 600 g/t RE increased the ileum’s crypt depth in laying hens compared to the control group (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in beta diversity of cecum microbiota in laying hens fed a 600 g/t RE diet in place of the other 4 experimental diets (p < 0.05). Compared with the control diet, dietary 600 g/t RE supplementation significantly decreased the relative abundance of Fusobacteriota (phylum) and Fusobacterium (genus) while markedly increasing the relative abundance of Ruminococcus (genus) and Subdoligranulum (genus) (p < 0.05). A high RE dosage negatively affects egg quality and intestinal morphology and alters gut microbiota diversity and composition. In contrast, a moderate RE dosage has beneficial effects on production performance in late-phase laying hens. Further research is warranted regarding eggshell thickness to investigate whether dietary calcium levels must be adjusted when 150 g/t RE is supplemented for late-phase laying hens.