Effects of Allium hookeri on gut microbiome related to growth performance in young broiler chickens

Abstract

Healthy food promotes beneficial bacteria in the gut microbiome. A few prebiotics act as food supplements to increase fermentation by beneficial bacteria, which enhance the host immune system and health. Allium hookeri is a healthy food with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. A. hookeri is used as a feed supplement for broiler chickens to improve growth performance. Although the underlying mechanism is unknown, A. hookeri may alter the gut microbiome. In the current study, 16S rRNA sequencing has been carried out using samples obtained from the cecum of broiler chickens exposed to diets comprising different tissue types (leaf and root) and varying amounts (0.3% and 0.5%) of A. hookeri to investigate their impact on gut microbiome. The microbiome composition in the groups supplemented with A. hookeri leaf varied from that of the control group. Especially, exposure to 0.5% amounts of leaf resulted in differences in the abundance of genera compared with diets comprising 0.3% leaf. Exposure to a diet containing 0.5% A. hookeri leaf decreased the abundance of the following bacteria: Eubacterium nodatum, Marvinbryantia, Oscillospira, and Gelria. The modulation of gut microbiome by leaf supplement correlated with growth traits including body weight, bone strength, and infectious bursal disease antibody. The results demonstrate that A. hookeri may improve the health benefits of broiler chickens by altering the gut microbiome.

Alternatives to Antibiotics: A Symposium on the Challenges and Solutions for Animal Health and Production

“…As we enter the post-antibiotic era, plant extracts have shown extremely promising results in terms of zootechnical parameters, immune modulation, and reducing the negative effects of pathogenic challenges, especially with enteric infections. Recent studies have shown that dietary phytochemicals can alter the gut microbiome and modulate mucosal immunity [ 60 , 61 ]. Phytochemicals in general are easy to deliver in animal feed and can be used in solid, dried, and ground forms or as extracts (crude or concentrated), and can also be used as essential oils (EOs; volatile lipophilic substances obtained by cold extraction or steam/alcohol distillation) and oleoresins (extracts derived by non-aqueous solvents), depending on the process used to derive the active ingredients.…”

“…With an increasing understanding of the complex intestinal ecosystem and the critical roles of the microbiota in shaping the host immune response as well as gut health [ 60 , 61 , 63 ], a multifaceted approach using synergistic feed additives may be more effective to reduce the disease effects of complex pathogens such as Campylobacter . A multi-pronged approach that combines strategies to reduce C. jejuni cecal colonization in poultry gut, inhibit its survival in poultry products, and reduce its environmental persistence during poultry processing by using various phytochemicals was shown to be an effective nonantibiotic method to reduce the risk of human infections [ 64 , 65 , 66 ].…”

“…Although the animal agricultural feed additive market includes many novel phytochemical-based products, many challenges regarding their application persist, including consistency, safety, and valid scientific proof. This is not surprising because many phytochemical feed additives also modify the microbiota in some way to enrich beneficial bacteria [ 59 , 60 , 61 ]. Thus, it is likely that a product that can deliver consistent results will need to incorporate two or more components with complementary and/or synergistic mechanisms of action.…”

Beneficial Effects of Organosulfur Compounds from Allium cepa on Gut Health: A Systematic Review

“…It has been reported that supplementation with Allium hookeri leaves produced modulation of GM in broilers [101]. In addition, the addition of onion powder to the diet of broilers caused a significant reduction in E. coli population and the increase of Lactobacillus and Streptococcus species, achieving an improvement in the gut histomorphology [96].…”

Identification of the molecular mechanisms underlying brisket disease in Holstein heifers via microbiota and metabolome analyses

“…Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae are the most abundant Firmicute families in the gut environment,and Lachnospiraceae was reported to be depleted in inflammatory bowel disease (Biddle et al 2013 ), an observation which might indicate that Lachnospiraceae is negatively connected with inflammatory. Lachnoclostridium and Ruminococcaceae have also been reported to be strongly linked to the regulation of the immune system (Lee et al 2020 ). In the present study, the significant decrease in the abundance of the Lachnospiraceae _FE2018_group and Lachnospiraceae_UCG -001 in BD might also imply a role for Lachnospiraceae in BD via an increase in inflammation.…”