Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) are considered to be the major bioactive components of L. barbarum and have been widely used as a well-known traditional Chinese medicine and functional food because of their various biological activities. However, no published research has investigated the use of LBP as a feed additive in broilers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary LBP supplementation on the growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, antioxidant status, and immunity of broiler chickens. A total of 256 one-day-old Arbor Acres male broiler chicks were randomly allotted into 4 groups, with 8 replicates of 8 birds each, and were fed a corn-soybean meal-type basal diet supplemented without (control group) or with 1,000, 2,000, or 4,000 mg/kg LBP for 6 wk. The results showed that compared with the control diet, a significant increase in ADG (P < 0.05) during the grower and overall periods was observed in chickens fed the basal diet supplemented with 2,000 mg/kg LBP, whereas supplementation with 1,000 or 2,000 mg/kg LBP decreased feed-to-gain ratio (P < 0.05) during the starter period. The inclusion of LBP in the broiler diets increased overall amylase, lipase, and protease activities (P < 0.05). Supplementation with increasing levels of dietary LBP increased the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase but decreased malondialdehyde content in the serum and liver (P < 0.05). Broilers fed with LBP-containing diets exhibited higher serum IgG and IgA concentrations (P < 0.05) than the broilers fed with the control diet. Serum tumor necrosis factor α and IL-4 concentrations were significantly elevated in the group fed 2,000 mg/kg LBP compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Broilers fed diets supplemented with LBP showed linear (P < 0.05) and quadratic (P < 0.05) increases in serum IL-6 and interferon gamma concentrations. The results indicated that dietary LBP supplementation can improve growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, antioxidant capacity, and immune function of broilers. In conclusion, LBP may be used as a promising feed additive for broilers, and a supplementation level of 2,000 mg/kg LBP in the broiler diet is recommended.

Acanthopanax senticosus (AS) is a well-known, highly effective traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Polysaccharides extracted from AS (ASPS) have multiple pharmacologic and biological activities with potential use as additives in broiler chicken feed. This trial evaluated the effects of dietary ASPS on growth performance, immune function, antioxidation, and ileal microbial populations in broiler chickens. A total of 240 1-day-old Arbor Acres male broiler chicks were randomly divided into 4 groups, with 10 replicates of 6 chicks and fed a corn- and soybean-based diet supplemented with 0, 1, 2, or 4 g/kg ASPS. Compared with the control group, supplementation with 1 g/kg ASPS increased ADG and ADFI in the finisher and overall periods and decreased the feed conversion ratio in the finisher period (both P < 0.05). Serum IgA and IgM were significantly increased by supplementation with 1 and 2 g/kg of ASPS (P < 0.05). Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities were increased and malondialdehyde concentration was decreased in birds fed ASPS-supplemented diets compared with those in the control group (P < 0.05). Polysaccharides extracted from AS supplementation increased Lactobacillus and decreased Escherichia coli and Salmonella counts in the ileal contents compared with the control diet (both P < 0.05). The results show that dietary ASPS improved growth performance, immune status, and antioxidant capacity and stimulated the growth of beneficial gut bacteria in broiler chickens. In conclusion, ASPS was effective as a natural additive in broiler chicken feed; 1 g/kg can be considered as the optimum dosage.

The current study aimed to investigate the evolution of gut microbiota and its influencing factors for NXP in youth. The results showed that Shannon index increased from d 21 to d 28 whereas the ACE index increased from d 21 until d 60. Firmicutes, mainly Lactobacillus dominated on d 21. The Bacteroides and Spirochetes showed highest relative abundance on d 28. Fiber-degrading bacteria, mainly Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Muribaculaceae, and Oscillospiraceae_UCG−002, dominated the microbial communities at d 28 and d 35. The microbial communities at d 60 and d 75 contained more Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Terrisporobacter and Oscillospiraceae_UCG−005 than other ages, which had significantly positive correlations with acetate and total SCFAs concentration. In conclusion, the evolution of gut microbiota was mainly adapted to the change of dietary factors during NXP growth. The response of fiber-degrading bacteria at different stages may help NXP better adapt to plant-derived feeds.

Sixteen 35-day-old piglets, including eight Large White (LW) piglets (a lean-type pig breed) and eight Ningxiang (NX) piglets (a fatty-type Chinese Indigenous pig breed), were fed the same diet for 105 days. NX pigs had higher intramuscular fat content than LW pigs (p < 0.05). According to 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the relative abundances of the genera Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group, Parabacteroides, Christensenellaaceae_R-7_group and Ruminiclostridium were higher, whereas the abundances of Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group, Prevotella, Subdoligranulum and Faecalibacterium were lower, in the colon of NX pigs compared to that of LW pigs. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that the microbiota of the two pig breeds clustered separately along the principal coordinate axis. Furthermore, functional prediction of the bacterial communities suggested higher fatty acid biosynthesis in NX pigs. NX pigs also exhibited lower concentrations of total short-chain fatty acids, propionate and butyrate in the colon (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that NX pigs exhibited higher intramuscular fat content and backfat thickness than LW pigs. The bacterial communities in the colon of NX pigs were also more diverse than those in the colon of LW pigs, which might be used as a potential metabolomics mechanism to research different breeds of pigs.