Effects of <i>Artemisia annua</i> L. Water Extract on Growth Performance and Intestinal Related Indicators in Broilers

Abstract

Artemisia annua L. is a natural herb with a variety of bioactive substances, which can play a variety of biological functions such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral, and can be used as a potential feed additive. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different doses of Artemisia annua L. water extract (AAWE) on growth performance and intestinal related indicators in broilers. A total of 200 one-day-old Arbor Acre broilers were selected and randomly divided into five treatment groups, with five replicates in each group and eight birds per replicate. The control group was fed a basal diet, whereas the other groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 g/kg AAWE. On d 21, with the increase in AAWE dose, final body weight and feed efficiency showed a quadratic increase effect, whereas feed intake showed a linear reduction effect; however, the apparent metabolic rate of dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract increased quadratically on d 42. In addition, the activity of duodenal chymotrypsin and trypsin, and of jejunal lipase quadratically increased, whereas the intestine crypt depth linearly decreased on d 42. The number of total anaerobic bacteria increased quadratically, whereas the number of Escherichia coli decreased quadratically. The number of Lactobacillus increased linearly, whereas H 2 S emission linearly decreased on d 21; moreover, NH 3 emission (24 h) quadratically decreased on d 42. In conclusion, AAWE promoted the growth performance and intestinal related indicators of broilers.

Artemisia annua L. polysaccharide improves the growth performance and intestinal barrier function of broilers challenged with Escherichia coli

“…In the present study, dietary supplementation with AAP significantly increased BW on d 42, ADFI and ADG on d 36-42 in broilers. This is similar to our previous study, which found that dietary supplementation with Artemisia annua L. water extract increased the final body weight and feed efficiency of broilers (Guo et al, 2023). Furthermore, we found that oral administration of E. coli significantly reduced BW, ADG, and ADFI, and increased FCR of broilers in the present study.…”

“…Artemisia annua L. ( A. annua ) is a species of Artemisia within the Asteraceae family, is widely distributed ( Ding et al, 2020 ) and is renowned for its rich variety of active substances, including sesquiterpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, and volatile oils ( Das et al, 2020 ; Fu et al, 2020 ), consequently, it possesses numerous biological functions, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor anti-malarial and immune regulatory activity ( Graham et al, 2019 ; Stan, 2020 ; Han et al, 2022 ; Chebbac et al, 2023 ; Wu et al, 2023 ). In poultry, previous studies have shown that A. annua aqueous extract can promote intestine immunity and antioxidant function ( Guo et al, 2022a ), inhibit the reproduction of E. coli and promote the proliferation of Lactobacillusla in broilers ( Guo et al, 2023 ). In addition, adding A. annua and its extracts into diets can effectively relieve heat stress, immune stress and oxidative stress in broilers ( Song et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Wan et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Choi et al, 2020 ).…”