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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1416793

The effect of dietary supplementation of Lycium barbarum leaves on the growth performance, organ indexes and intestinal microflora of rats

Provisionally accepted
Yindi Guo Yindi Guo Jie Liu Jie Liu Qiang Tuo Qiang Tuo Dongtao Zhang Dongtao Zhang Metha Wanapat Metha Wanapat Guosheng Xin Guosheng Xin *
  • Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study was conducted to investigate both fruit and different levels of leaf supplementation on the growth performance, organ indices and intestinal microflora of rats. Twenty-five healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups. The rats in the control (NC) and positive control (PC) groups were fed by gavage a basal diet and a basal diet with 4 g/kg of L. barbarum fruit homogenate, respectively. The test (LD, MD, and HD) groups were fed basal diets with additional 2, 4, and 8 g/kg of L. barbarum leaf homogenate, respectively. The feeding period was 35 d. The result revealed that the rats in the LD group had the highest average weight gain (P < 0.05). The cardiac and renal indexes in the LD and MD groups were significantly higher than in NC group, respectively (P < 0.05). Diversity analysis revealed that adding low concentrations of L. barbarum leaf homogenates markedly reduced the Shannon index of the rats cecum (P < 0.05). The relative abundance of Verrucomicrobiota was higher in the LD group than those in other groups (P < 0.05).The relative abundance of Actinobacteriota was found significantly higher in PC group than others (P < 0.05). The relative abundance of Akkermansia in LD group was the highest (P < 0.05). The relative abundance of Romboutsia in the PC group was considerably higher than that in other groups. The relative abundance of Candidatus_Saccharimonas in the supplementation groups was appreciably lower than those found in other groups. The relative abundance of Alloprevotella was significantly lower in PC, LD, and MD groups than in NC and HD groups (P < 0.05).The relative abundance of Oscillibacter was significantly higher in HD group than in other groups (P < 0.05).Thus, L. barbarum leaf homogenate fed to rats could increase their growth performance, internal organ weights and additionally enhance the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria. Therefor, base on the obtained data in the current study, a dose of L. barbarum leaf homogenate supplemented with 2 g/kg in diet is recommended, however, further studies are required to confirm, especially in animals.

    Keywords: Lycium barbarum leaves, Lycium barbarum polysaccharides, microbiota, Functional feed, Organ weight

    Received: 16 Apr 2024; Accepted: 11 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Guo, Liu, Tuo, Zhang, Wanapat and Xin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Guosheng Xin, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China

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