This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of polysaccharides derived from Astragalus membranaceus and Glycyrrhiza uralensis on growth performance, intestinal health, and gut microbiota composition in broilers. A total of 480 one-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into 4 treatments with 6 replicates comprising 20 broilers each. Treatments included: basal diet without antibiotics (CON); basal diet supplemented with 500 mg/kg terramycin calcium (ANT); basal diet supplemented with 300 mg/kg Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharides (APS); and basal diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg Glycyrrhiza uralensis polysaccharides (GPS). The results showed that ANT, AP,S and GPS supplementation significantly increased average daily gain (ADG) and decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) of broilers from 1 to 42 d of age. At 42 d, serum immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels of the APS and GPS group were notably higher than those of the CON group, while serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as well as diamine oxidase (DAO) activity in the APS and GPS group were obviously decreased. Moreover, diets supplemented with APS and GPS could significantly increase villus height (VH) and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (VH/CD) and remarkably upregulated occludin, claudin-1 and mucin-2 (MUC2) mRNA expression in duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of broilers. In addition, 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that APS and GPS supplementation altered cecal microbial diversity and composition in broilers. Higher Shannon index was observed in the APS and GPS group compared with the CON group, while GPS supplementation could also increase Chao1 index and Observed species. The result of Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) showed that microbial community in the CON, ANT, APS, and GPS group clustered separately. Notably, both APS and GPS supplementation significantly decreased the abundance of Bacteroidetes, Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Desulfovibrio, and Butyricicoccus, while increased the abundance of Firmicutes, Prevotella, Parabacteroides, Ruminococcus, and Alistipes. The correlation analysis showed that the changes in cecal microbial composition induced by dietary APS and GPS supplementation were closely associated with the alteration of the phenotype of broilers including ADG, FCR, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IgA, IgG, DAO, Occludin, Claudin-1, ZO-1, and MUC2. In conclusion, polysaccharides derived from Astragalus membranaceus and Glycyrrhiza uralensis could improve growth performance of broilers by enhancing intestinal health and modulating gut microbiota.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of compound polysaccharides derived from Astragalus and Glycyrrhiza on growth performance, meat quality, antioxidant function, cecal microbiota and serum metabolomics of broilers. A total of 480 one-day-old male Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were randomly divided into four treatments with six replicates comprising 20 broilers each. Treatments: CON group was the basal diet; ANT group was supplemented with Terramycin calcium; LAG group was supplemented with 150 mg/kg Astragalus polysaccharides and 75 mg/kg Glycyrrhiza polysaccharides; HAG group was supplemented with 300 mg/kg Astragalus polysaccharides and 150 mg/kg Glycyrrhiza polysaccharides. The results showed that LAG and HAG supplementation increased growth performance, antioxidant function and meat quality compared with the CON group and ANT group and, especially, the effect of LAG treatment was better than HAG. Analysis of cecal microbiota showed that LAG and HAG supplementation altered cecal microbial diversity and composition in broilers. Serum metabolomics analysis showed that a total of 193 differential metabolites were identified in CON and LAG groups, which were mainly enriched in linoleic acid metabolism and glutathione metabolism pathways. Moreover, there was a close correlation between serum metabolites, cecal microbiota and phenotypic indicators. Conclusion: Dietary supplementation of 150 mg/kg Astragalus polysaccharides and 75 mg/kg Glycyrrhiza polysaccharides could improve the growth performance, antioxidant function and meat quality of broilers by changing the serum metabolites and cecal microbiota composition.

Cottonseed meal (CSM) is the major by-product of the cottonseed oil extraction process with high protein content. However, the presence of free gossypol (FG) in CSM severely restricts its utilization in the food and animal feed industries. The development of a biological strategy for the effective removal of FG in CSM has become an urgent need. In this study, three bacterial laccases including CotA from Bacillus licheniformis, CueO from Escherichia coli, and LcLac from Loigolactobacillus coryniformis were heterologously expressed and investigated for their FG degradation ability. The results showed that CotA laccase displayed the highest FG-degrading capacity among the three laccases, achieving 100% FG degradation at 37 °C and pH 7.0 in 1 h without the addition of a redox mediator. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo studies confirmed that the hepatotoxicity of FG was effectively eliminated after oxidative degradation by CotA laccase. Furthermore, the addition of CotA laccase could achieve 87% to 98% FG degradation in defatted CSM within 2 h. In conclusion, CotA laccase can be developed as an effective biocatalyst for the detoxification of FG in CSM.

Journal of Animal Science and Technology (JAST) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal publishing original research, review articles and notes in all fields of animal science. Topics covered by the journal include: genetics and breeding, physiology, nutrition of monogastric animals, nutrition of ruminants, animal products (milk, meat, eggs and their by-products) and their processing, grasslands and roughages, livestock environment, animal biotechnology, animal behavior and welfare.

Zearalenone (ZEN), a mycotoxin commonly found in cereal crops and foods, induces testicular damage and disrupts gut microbial composition. Curcumin (CUR), a bioactive compound derived from turmeric, is known to enhance intestinal microbial balance and exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which CUR alleviates ZEN-induced reductions in sperm quality through the modulation of the gut microbiota–testis axis. Forty-eight 6-week-old Balb/c male mice were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: control (CON), CUR (200 mg/kg body weight CUR), ZEN (40 mg/kg body weight ZEN), and ZEN + CUR (200 mg/kg CUR + 40 mg/kg ZEN). The degree of sperm damage was quantified by assessing both the survival rate and the morphological integrity of the spermatozoa. CUR was found to mitigate ZEN-induced reductions in the testosterone levels, testicular structural damage, and disrupted spermatogenesis. Exposure to ZEN markedly perturbed the gut microbiota, characterized by increased relative abundances of Prevotella and Bacteroides and a concomitant reduction in Lactobacillus. These alterations were accompanied by pronounced activation of the IL-17A–TNF-α signaling axis, as demonstrated by elevated transcriptional and translational expression of pathway-associated genes and proteins. Co-administration of CUR effectively reinstated microbial homeostasis and mitigated ZEN-induced IL-17A pathway activation. In conclusion, ZEN induces testicular inflammation and reduced sperm quality by lowering testosterone levels and disrupting gut microbial balance, which drives the testicular IL-17A signaling pathway. CUR alleviates ZEN-induced testicular inflammation and sperm quality reduction by restoring beneficial gut microbes and testosterone levels.

Low-protein (LPRO) diets can effectively reduce feed costs and decrease environmental pollution, making them an important pathway to enhance the sustainability of livestock production. However, they may have adverse effects on the growth performance of broiler chickens, which has limited their widespread application. This study aims to explore the impact of adding protease (PRO) to LPRO diets on the growth performance of broiler chickens, especially under conditions with or without the presence of Bacillus coagulans (BC), in order to provide theoretical support for the scientific application and promotion of LPRO feeds. We selected 432 one-day-old broiler chickens and divided them into four treatment groups, which were fed with the control (CON) diet, the LPRO diet, the PRO diet (LPRO diet with added protease), and the PAB diet (PRO diet with added BC). The LPRO group demonstrated decreased growth performance while both PRO and PAB diets resulted in a significant increase (p < 0.05). Both PRO and PAB diets significantly enhanced the expression of amino acid transport genes and tight junction genes (p < 0.05) and optimized the composition of the intestinal microbiota. Overall, LPRO diets have a detrimental effect on the growth of broiler chickens, while the PRO and PAB diets effectively counteract these negative effects by improving protein digestion, amino acid absorption, and intestinal health.