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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1494892
This article is part of the Research Topic Natural Compounds/Products and Livestock Productivity: Enhancing Antioxidant Levels, Gut Health, Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Disease Control View all 21 articles

The active roles of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa ZTHY2 in regulating antioxidant capacity and immune function of Leizhou black ducks

Provisionally accepted
Jiang Wu Jiang Wu 1*Yingxin Hu Yingxin Hu 2*Namula Zhao Namula Zhao 2*Wei Yang Wei Yang 3*Zhibao Chen Zhibao Chen 2*
  • 1 College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
  • 2 Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China
  • 3 South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

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

    Previous studies in mice have demonstrated that Rhodotorula mucilaginosa ZTHY2 can promote animal growth, enhance antioxidant and immune functions, and regulate intestinal flora in our laboratory. This study focuses on the Leizhou black duck, a local breed in Zhanjiang, to evaluate the effects of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa ZTHY2 on its growth, antioxidant capacity, and immune function. A total of 150 1-day-old male Leizhou black ducks, of similar size and healthy, were selected for this study and randomly assigned to five treatment groups. Each group contained three replicates with ten birds each. The control group (Control) was given a standard basal diet, while the RM group received a diet supplemented with ZTHY2 at concentrations of 2×107(RM1), 2×108(RM2), or 2×109(RM3) CFU/kg, respectively. The LA group was supplemented with 2×109 CFU/kg of Lactobacillus acidophilus in addition to the basal diet. The feeding trial lasted 42 days. The analysis revealed significant improvements in the average body weight for the RM2 and RM3 groups, which were significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05 and P<0.01). Treatment with ZTHY2 induced a dose-dependent elevation in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and SOD activities, and a reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the serum at 42 days. The serum levels of complement components C3 and C4, immunoglobulin IgG, and cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly increased in Leizhou black ducks treated with ZTHY2 at 42-days post-treatment, with the therapeutic effect becoming more pronounced as the duration of the experiment prolonged. The greatest impact was observed at a dosage of 2×109 CFU/kg of ZTHY2. Moreover, ZTHY2 modulated the mRNA expression profiles of these cytokines in the thymus, spleen, and bursa, thereby sustaining the balance of immune dynamics. In summary, the supplementation of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa ZTHY2 at a dosage of 2×109 CFU/kg had been found to most effectively enhance the growth performance of Leizhou black ducks by optimizing their immune function and antioxidant capacity.

    Keywords: Rhodotorula mucilaginosa ZTHY2, Leizhou black duck, antioxidant capacity, Immune function, growth performance

    Received: 11 Sep 2024; Accepted: 15 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Hu, Zhao, Yang and Chen. 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:
    Jiang Wu, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
    Yingxin Hu, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 130012, Guangdong Province, China
    Namula Zhao, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 130012, Guangdong Province, China
    Wei Yang, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong Province, China
    Zhibao Chen, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 130012, Guangdong Province, China

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