This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with N-Carbamylglutamate (NCG) on growth performance, immune function, intestinal metabolites, and microbiota in Danzhou chickens. In a 35-day feeding trial, a total of 480 one-day-old female chicks were randomly assigned to a control group (basal diet) and three experimental groups supplemented with 400, 800, or 1200 mg/kg NCG, with 120 chicks in each group (n = 120). The results demonstrated that NCG, particularly at 400 mg/kg, significantly improved growth parameters, including average daily gain and feed conversion ratio, while enhancing immune function by increasing serum levels of immunoglobulins (IgA, IgY) and malate dehydrogenase (p < 0.05). Metabolomic analysis revealed that NCG modulated key pathways such as sphingolipid metabolism and mTOR signaling pathway, leading to significant changes in metabolites including L-arginine, ceramide, and docosahexaenoic acid (p < 0.05). 16S rDNA sequencing indicated that NCG induced structural shifts in the gut microbiota, primarily affecting Bacteroidota and Firmicutes, with several bacterial genera showing strong correlations with the observed metabolic changes (p < 0.05). Mechanistically, NCG promotes growth by facilitating arginine synthesis via the urea cycle and activating the mTOR signaling pathway, while its regulation of sphingolipid metabolism enhances immunomodulatory capacity. In conclusion, NCG enhances feed efficiency and immune competence by orchestrating the gut microbiota-metabolite network, demonstrating its potential for poultry production.

This study evaluated the effects of supplementing Alpinia katsumadai and Wurfbainia vera extracts on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, intestinal metabolites, and microbiota of Danzhou chickens. Using Danzhou broilers, we examined the individual or combined inclusion of Alpinia katsumadai and Wurfbainia vera extracts in a 2 × 2 factorial layout. Four hundred and eighty female dual-purpose chickens were randomly assigned to four treatments (six replicates of 20 chicks each): control basal diet (CON), basal + 600 mg kg⁻¹Alpinia katsumadai (T1), basal + 600 mg kg⁻¹ Wurfbainia vera (T2), or basal + 600 mg kg⁻¹ Alpinia katsumadai + 600 mg kg⁻¹ Wurfbainia vera (T3). All treatments differed significantly from CON. For intestinal morphology, T1, T2, and T3 increased jejunal villus height and villus-to-crypt ratio while reducing crypt depth. T1 exceeded CON (p < 0.05), and an interaction was detected. T1 raised the abundances of Bacteroidota, Bifidobacterium, Tidjanibacter, and Phocaeicola relative to CON (p < 0.05). T3 exhibited higher activities of glutathione peroxidase and catalase than CON, T2, and T1 (p < 0.05). Metabolomically, T1, T2, and T3 elevated intestinal Menaquinone-9, lecithin, and L-galactono-1,5-lactone versus CON (p < 0.05). T3 lowered 3-(R)-Hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid and 9-(R)-Hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid versus CON and T1, and increased eugenol versus CON (p < 0.05). Overall, T1 and T2, especially in combination, enhance antioxidant capacity, improve gut morphology, promote beneficial microbiota and activate health-related metabolic pathways in Danzhou broilers.

The reproductive efficiency of modern breeding sows is commonly restricted by a mismatch between high genetic reproductive potential and insufficient voluntary feed intake during critical physiological periods. This review comprehensively examines the physiological, nutritional, and management mechanisms regulating feed intake in sows and their implications for reproductive performance, synthesizing recent advances across neuroendocrine regulation, metabolic signaling, immune-related pathways, and precision feeding strategies. We construct an integrated framework involving three core dimensions: (1) Physiological regulation: the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal, hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal, and hypothalamic–pituitary–spleen axes functionally interact via shared neuroimmune pathways within the hypothalamic–pituitary–immune axis, coordinately regulating feeding patterns and reproductive cyclicity through core hormonal and inflammatory signaling molecules. Perinatal stress induces pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, activates the intestinal JAK-STAT3 pathway, and upregulates intestinal hepcidin expression, impairing intestinal barrier integrity and triggering persistent inflammation. These peripheral inflammatory signals modulate hypothalamic neuropeptide Y and Proopiomelanocortin expression, forming a negative feedback loop that suppresses feeding behavior. (2) Nutritional regulation: dietary nutrients and specific flavor compounds reshape intestinal satiety signaling, improving piglet growth performance and survival rates, while optimized dietary composition and functional additive supplementation enhance sow feed intake capacity. (3) Management strategies: standardized feeding regimes and optimal rearing environments regulate nutrient digestion and gut hormone secretion. Major knowledge gaps include the translational potential of precision nutrition approaches, biomarker validation for feed intake monitoring, and the scalability of integrated interventions under commercial production conditions. This review provides a multidimensional framework integrating physiological, nutritional, and management strategies to enhance sow feed intake, offering theoretical insights and practical guidance for sustainable pig production.

This study assessed the impacts of dietary net energy (NE) levels on growth performance, meat quality and intestinal health in Tunchang Black pigs. Forty-eight pigs with an initial body weight of 11 kg were allocated into four groups and fed diets containing 10.65 (N1), 10.15 (N2, control), 9.65 (N3) and 9.15 (N4) MJ/kg NE respectively over a 42-day experimental period. The N4 group presented lower average daily gain and carcass weight relative to the N1 group, while no significant differences in growth performance were detected between N2 and N3. The N3 group displayed superior meat quality characteristics, manifested as decreased contents of saturated fatty acids (C10:0, C12:0), elevated selenium concentration, upregulated expression of slow-twitch myosin heavy chain (MyHC I) and downregulated expression of fast-twitch MyHC IIb, alongside increased ileal occludin expression. Moreover, the N3 treatment improved antioxidant capacity, as reflected by higher serum GSH and SOD levels and lower serum MDA content. In conclusion, decreasing dietary NE from 10.15 to 9.65 MJ/kg exerted no detrimental influence on growth performance yet effectively ameliorated meat quality, antioxidant status and intestinal barrier function in Tunchang Black pigs.

Poultry nutrition simultaneously affects animal health, productive efficiency, product quality and the environmental burdens associated with feed production and manure management. Nutritional interventions may generate synergies among these outcomes, but they can also shift costs or environmental impacts across biological and supply-chain boundaries. This review critically evaluates low-protein diets, functional additives, feed enzymes, alternative protein sources, precision-feeding technologies and nutritional approaches to manure-emission mitigation. The evidence indicates that improved intestinal function and nutrient retention can reduce feed requirements and nutrient excretion, whereas excessive protein restriction, unstable additive responses, limited alternative-ingredient supply and poorly validated digital systems may compromise performance, product quality or economic feasibility. Environmental benefits are also sensitive to ingredient origin, processing, transport, crystalline amino acid and additive manufacture, coproduct allocation and life cycle assessment assumptions. To integrate these considerations, we propose a four-level conceptual decision framework comprising physiological adequacy, precision nutrient supply, constraint-specific functional intervention and whole-chain verification. The framework treats health, productive performance, product quality, economic feasibility and environmental impact as simultaneous decision criteria, while genotype, production stage, disease pressure, climate, ingredient availability and market objectives define the conditions of application. Standardized life cycle assessment and commercial validation are required to distinguish reproducible net benefits from improvements confined to individual indicators. This approach provides a structured basis for selecting poultry nutritional strategies that remain biologically effective, economically accessible and environmentally beneficial under practical production conditions.

To investigate the effects of Bacillus coagulans (BC) and tributyrin (TB) on Danzhou chickens, a 2 × 2 factorial design was adopted. A total of 480 chickens were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, consisting of two BC levels (0 and 1.5 g/kg) and two TB levels (0 and 1.0 g/kg), for a 35-day trial. The results showed that supplementation with BC or TB alone significantly increased the average daily gain (ADG), serum immune parameters (immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, and anti-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-4 and interleukin-10), total antioxidant capacity, and catalase activity, while reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and the feed-to-gain ratio (p < 0.05). In addition, individual supplementation with BC or TB also enhanced digestive enzyme activities in the intestine, increased villus height in the small intestine, and optimized the structure of the cecal microbiota (p < 0.05). More importantly, significant synergistic interactions between BC and TB were observed across multiple parameters (p < 0.05). Combined supplementation further increased ADG, serum immunoglobulin M levels, superoxide dismutase activity, lipase activity in the ileum, and villus height in the jejunum (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the combined supplementation also significantly elevated the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Bacteroides, Eubacterium_brachy_group, and Negativibacillus. In conclusion, supplementation with BC or TB effectively improved the growth performance, antioxidant status, immune function, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbiota composition of Danzhou chickens, and the combined supplementation demonstrated superior effects compared to individual supplementation.