Effect of dietary supplementation of Ganoderma lucidum residue on growth performance, immune organ index and faecal microbial community diversity in broiler chickens

Abstract

Ganoderma lucidum residue (GLR) contains a variety of medicinal and nutritional components and is a potentially high quality roughage. The purpose of the experiment was to study the effects of GLR on the growth performance, immune function and intestinal flora of broilers. The study was conducted in a 90-day indoor cage experiment with broilers, and three feeding groups were set up with the addition of GLR to the basal diet at 0 (A), 10% (B) and 15% (C), with three replicates of 10 broilers in each group. The growth performance, immune organ index, and fecal microbial community structure of broiler chickens in different feeding groups were compared. The results showed that (1) there were no significant differences in the average daily weight gains of broilers in the different feeding groups. (2) The immune organ indices of broilers in Group B were higher than those in Groups A and C, with the spleen index in Group B being significantly higher than that in Group A. (3) The dominant phyla in the broiler faecal bacterial communities in all feeding groups were Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, and the dominant genera were Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Alistipes; however, the relative abundance of Bacteroidota was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A, and the relative abundances of Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Alistipes were higher in Groups B and C than in Group A. (4) Manure microbial FAPROTAX functions predicted that GLR increased the abundances of heterotrophic and fermentative broiler manure microorganisms and significantly reduced the abundances of animal parasites or symbionts. In summary, group B was superior to other groups in terms of growth performance, spleen index and probiotic level. Adding GLR to the base feed has a positive effect on enhancing the immunity of broiler chickens, increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria in the intestine, and maintaining the ecological balance of the intestinal flora. These findings reveal the effect of GLR on the fecal microorganisms of broiler chickens and provide a new development direction for improving poultry health.