AUTHOR=Li Guangquan , Wang Xianze , Liu Yi , Wang Cui , Yang Yunzhou , Gong Shaoming , Zhu Lihui , He Daqian , Wang Huiying 

TITLE=Supplementation with honeysuckle extract improves growth performance, immune performance, gut morphology, and cecal microbes in geese

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.1006318

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2022.1006318

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>The study aimed to investigate the effects of honeysuckle extract (HE) on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, immune organ indexes, gut morphology, and gut microbes in geese. A total of 180 28-day-old Holdobaki geese were randomly divided into three groups. Each group contained 6 replicates (10 geese, with 5 males and 5 females). The BD group was fed the basal diet, the HE1 group was fed the basal diet supplemented with 1 g/kg of HE, and the HE2 group was fed the basal diet supplemented with 2 g/kg of HE. The experiment lasted for 42 days. The results showed that, compared with the BD group, the average daily gain (ADG) of the HE1 and HE2 groups tended to increase (0.05 &lt; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.10), but the average daily feed intake (ADFI) and final body weight (BW) did not differ significantly, and the feed/gain ratio (F/G) was significantly lower (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01). The bursa index and the thymus index tended to increase (0.05 &lt; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.10), and serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels increased significantly (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). In the HE1 and HE2 groups, the crypt depth (CD) in the jejunum tended to decrease (0.05 &lt; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.10), and the villus height/crypt depth ratio (V/C) increased significantly in the jejunum and the ileum (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). According to 16sRNA microbial community diversity analysis, <italic>Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria</italic>, and <italic>Actinobacteria</italic> were the dominant phyla. The abundance of <italic>Firmicutes</italic> was significantly decreased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01), while that of <italic>Bacteroidetes</italic> was significantly increased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01), in the HE1 and HE2 groups compared with the BD group. <italic>Bacteroides barnesiae, Subdoligranulum variabile, Bacteroides plebeius</italic>, and <italic>Faecalibacterium prausnitzii</italic> were the dominant species, and the abundance of <italic>B. plebeius</italic> and <italic>F. prausnitzii</italic> was significantly increased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). According to the LEfSe analysis, BD enriched <italic>g_Dorea</italic> and <italic>g_Dehalobacterium</italic>; HE1 enriched g_<italic>Faecalibacterium, g_Dialister, g_Prevotella, g_Megamonas, g_Phascolarctobacterium, g_Paraprevotella, g_Anaerostipes, g_Staphylococcus, g_Odoribacter, g_Succinivibrio</italic>, and <italic>g_Sutterella</italic>; and HE2 enriched g_<italic>Parabacteroides, g_Olsenella, g_human</italic>, and <italic>g_Rikenella</italic>. According to the Spearman correlation analysis, <italic>Bacteroides plebeius</italic> was positively correlated with final BW, ADG, IgA, IgG, VH (ileum), and V/C (ileum) and was negatively correlated with F/G and CD (ileum); <italic>Ruminococcus gnavus</italic> was negatively correlated with final BW, ADG, IgA, and IgG. HE supplementation at 1 g/kg improved growth performance, immune performance, gut morphology, and cecal microbes.</p>