Manganese (Mn) is a trace element present in all tissues and is essential for animal growth and health; it also has an antioxidant capacity in tissues. The effect of Mn on meat quality and the mechanism of fat deposition of the breast muscle is still unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of Mn supplementation on the growth performance, meat quality, the activity and transcription of antioxidant enzymes, and fatty acid profile in the breast muscle, and the Mn deposition in tissues of Pekin ducks. A total of 896 one-day-old Pekin ducks were allocated into 7 groups, with 8 replicates, each replicate containing 16 ducks. The treatment diets consisted of basal diet supplemented with manganese sulfate at levels 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 240 mg/kg (as Mn). Results showed that ducks fed diets supplemented with Mn had no effect on the growth performance but decrease in the feed-to-gain ratio of day 1-14 (P < 0.01). Dietary Mn increased significantly the a∗ (redness) value of the duck breast meat at 24 h and intramuscular fat (P < 0.05), and decreased drip loss and shear force of the breast meat (P < 0.05). Manganese supplement significantly reduced the malondialdehyde content (P < 0.05), and significantly increased the mRNA expressions of manganese superoxide dismutase, thioredoxin 2, peroxiredoxin 3, and catalase (P < 0.05). About the fatty acid profile, dietary Mn increased (P < 0.05) the proportions of the C20 family. Manganese accumulation in the heart, breast muscle, and tibia was increased with Mn supplementation (P < 0.05), and Mn content of the heart conforms to the quadratic curve. Besides, Mn supplementation notably increased mRNA expression in genes involved in lipogenesis and deposition and decreased in genes associated with lipolytic in the breast muscle. These findings reveal that dietary Mn could improve meat quality and enhance antioxidant activity and intramuscular fat, which via regulated gene expression involved in lipogenesis and lipolytic.

Microencapsulated sodium butyrate (MS-SB) is an effective sodium butyrate additive which can reduce the release of sodium butyrate (SB) in the fore gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we assess the protective effects and mechanisms of MS-SB in Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens)-challenged broilers. Broiler chickens were pre-treated with SB or MS-SB for 56 days and then challenged with C. perfringens three times. Our results indicate that the addition of MS-SB or SB before C. perfringens infection significantly decreased the thymus index (p < 0.05). Serum IgA, IgY, and IgM concentrations were significantly increased (p < 0.05), while pro-inflammatory IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) under MS-SB or SB supplementation. Compared with SB, MS-SB presented a stronger performance, with higher IgA content, as well as a lower IL-1β level when normal or C. perfringens-challenged. While C. perfringens challenge significantly decreased the villus height (p < 0.05), MS-SB or SB administration significantly increased the villus height and villus height/crypt depth (V/C ratio) (p < 0.05). Varying degrees of SB or MS-SB increased the concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) during C. perfringens challenge, where MS-SB presented a stronger performance, as evidenced by the higher content of isovaleric acid and valeric acid. Microbial analysis demonstrated that both SB or MS-SB addition and C. perfringens infection increase variation in the microbiota community. The results also indicate that the proportions of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Clostridia, Ruminococcaceae, Alistipes, and Clostridia were significantly higher in the MS-SB addition group while, at same time, C. perfringens infection increased the abundance of Bacteroides and Alistipes. In summary, dietary supplementation with SB or MS-SB improves the immune status and morphology of intestinal villi, increases the production of VFAs, and modulates cecal microbiota in chickens challenged with C. perfringens. Moreover, MS-SB was more effective than SB with the same supplemental amount.

Objective: A total of three hundred unsexed ducks were utilized to estimate net energy requirements of maintenance (NEm) and weight gain (NEg) for 2 to 3-week-old Cherry Valley ducks and to establish a model equation to predict NE requirements using the factorial method.Methods: To determine the apparent metabolizable energy (AME) of the diet, fifty 7-day-old ducks at approximately equal body weights (BWs) were randomly assigned into five groups that were fed at different levels (ad libitum, 85%, 75%, 65%, and 55% of ad libitum intake), and the endogenous acid-insoluble ash as indigestible marker. The two hundred and fifty 7-day-old ducks were used for a comparative slaughter experiment. At the beginning of the experiment, ten ducks were sacrificed to determine the initial body composition and energy content. The remaining ducks were randomly assigned into five groups (same as metabolic experiment). Ducks of the ad libitum group were slaughtered at 14 and 21-dayold. At the end of the experiment, two ducks were selected from each replicate and slaughtered to determine the body composition and energy content.Results: The results of the metabolizable experiment showed AME values of 13.43 to 13.77 MJ/kg for ducks at different feed intakes. The results of the comparative slaughter experiment showed the NEm value for 2 to 3-week-old Cherry Valley ducks was 549.54 kJ/kg of BW0.75/d, and the NEg value was 10.41 kJ/g. The deposition efficiency values of fat (Kf) and crude protein (Kp) were 0.96 and 0.60, respectively, and the values of efficiency of energy utilization (Kg) and maintenance efficiency (Km) were 0.75 and 0.88, respectively.Conclusion: The equation for the prediction of NE requirements for 2 to 3-week-old Cherry Valley ducks was the following: NE = 549.54 BW0.75+10.41 ΔW, where ΔW is the weight gain (g).

Piglets’ early weaning frequently encounters intestinal dysfunction and diarrhea that results in growth retardation and even mortality. We previously found Cortex Phellodendri extract (CPE) could relieve post-weaning piglets’ diarrhea whereas the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, to explore the mechanism, 126 piglets were allotted into three groups of seven replicates fed with basal diet, or basal diet + 0.04% CPE, or basal diet + 0.08% CPE. We found 0.04% CPE supplementation effectively decreased piglets’ fecal scores on d7 and d14 post-weaning. In addition, CPE supplementation improved growth performance of early weaning piglets during days 8–14. Further analysis showed CPE supplementation improved the jejunum morphology and increased antioxidant indices, whereas it reduced oxidative metabolites in jejunum tissue. Meanwhile, CPE supplementation increased the mRNA levels of antioxidant indices and anti-inflammatory cytokines but decreased the mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines. CPE supplementation shifted gut microbiota and increased alpha diversity indices, namely the Observed species and Abundance-Based Coverage Estimator indices. CPE supplementation increased the relative abundances of Proteobacteria, SMB53, Flexispira, and Ruminococcus_gnavus, but decreased the relative abundances of Parabacteroides and Sutterella. The gut microbiota shifted by CPE supplementation has a significant correlation with the early weaning-related indices. Overall, CPE supplementation alleviated intestinal oxidative stress, inflammation, and microbiota dysbiosis in early weaning piglets.

The early weaning of piglets is still widely practiced in modern swine production, although it is frequently associated with intestinal dysfunction, microbiota dysbiosis, and even diarrhea. A total of 126 piglets were randomly allotted to three groups (seven pens per group) and fed either a basal diet, a basal diet supplemented with 0.05% SJE, or a basal diet supplemented with 0.1% SJE. Supplementation with 0.1% SJE effectively decreased fecal scores on days 7 and 14 post-weaning and improved growth performance on day 14 post-weaning in early-weaned piglets. In addition, SJE supplementation improved jejunal morphology, increased antioxidant capacity indices, and reduced oxidative metabolites in jejunal tissue. Correspondingly, SJE supplementation upregulated the mRNA expression of antioxidant-related genes and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the jejunum. Notably, SJE supplementation altered the gut microbiota structure and increased alpha diversity indices, including observed species, ACE, and Chao1. Specifically, SJE supplementation increased the relative abundances of Fibrobacteres, Akkermansia muciniphila, and Prevotella copri. The SJE-induced shifts in gut microbiota were signific antly correlated with early weaning–related indices. Overall, SJE supplementation alleviated intestinal oxidative stress, inflammation, and microbiota dysbiosis, which may contribute to its effects on alleviating diarrhea, intestinal oxidative stress, inflammation, and microbiota dysbiosis in early-weaned piglets.