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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1436807
This article is part of the Research Topic Unlocking the Power of Gut Microbiota to Improving Health and Welfare in Non-Ruminant Livestock View all articles

Effect of supplementation with Glycyrrhiza uralensis extract and Lactobacillus acidophilus on growth performance and intestinal health in broiler chickens

Provisionally accepted
Ximei Li Ximei Li *Jiawei Li Jiawei Li *Haotian Yuan Haotian Yuan *Yan Chen Yan Chen *Shuaibing Li Shuaibing Li *Susu Jiang Susu Jiang *Yingpai ZhaXi Yingpai ZhaXi *Guohua Zhang Guohua Zhang *Jianxiong Lu Jianxiong Lu *
  • College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China

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

    Four hundred twenty 1-day-old male Liangfenghua broiler chickens were randomly assigned to four groups to investigate the effect of dietary Glycyrrhiza uralensis extract (GUE), Lactobacillus acidophilus (Lac) and their combination (GL) on growth performance and intestinal health in broilers in an 84-day feeding experiment. Supplementary 0.1% GUE and 4.5×10 7 CFU/g Lac significantly increased average daily gain (ADG), and GL (0.1% GUE and 4.5×10 7 CFU/g Lac) increased ADG and average daily feed intake (ADFI), and decreased feed conversion rate (FCR) in broilers aged 29 to 84 d and 1 to 84 d. Dietary GUE, Lac and GL increased the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activity and decreased Malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the jejunum mucosa of broilers, and increased secretory IgA (sIgA) content in broilers at 84 d. Moreover, GUE, Lac and GL increased cecal microbial richness and diversity, and modulated microbial community composition. Both GUE and Lac reduced the harmful bacteria Epsilonbacteraeota, Helicobacter, and H. pullorum at 28 d and Proteobacteria, Escherichia, and E. coli at 84 d, while Lac and GL increased beneficial bacteria Lactobacillus and L. gallinarum at 28 d. Compared with individual supplementation, GL markedly increased the SOD activity and the sIgA content, and reduced Helicobacter and Helicobacter pullorum. In conclusion, GUE and Lactobacillus acidophilus as feed additives benefit growth performance and intestinal health, and their combined use shows an even more positive effect in broilers.

    Keywords: Glycyrrhiza uralensis extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, growth performance, Intestine health, Broiler chickens

    Received: 22 May 2024; Accepted: 08 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Li, Yuan, Chen, Li, Jiang, ZhaXi, Zhang and Lu. 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:
    Ximei Li, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China
    Jiawei Li, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China
    Haotian Yuan, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China
    Yan Chen, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China
    Shuaibing Li, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China
    Susu Jiang, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China
    Yingpai ZhaXi, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China
    Guohua Zhang, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China
    Jianxiong Lu, College of Life Science and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, China

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