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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1543302
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 23 articles
The Effect of Broussonetia papyrifera Silage on Intestinal Health Indicators and Fecal Bacterial Composition in Kazakh Sheep
Provisionally accepted- Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
Hybrid Broussonetia papyrifera shows great promise for use in antibiotic-free feed, potentially contributing to the green and sustainable development of the animal husbandry industry. In this study, we investigated the impact of Broussonetia papyrifera silage on the intestinal health of Kazakh sheep. Forty healthy male Kazakh sheep, aged 5 months and weighing an average of 28.28 ± 1.14 kg, were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group, each comprising four replicates, with five sheep per replicate. The control group was fed a basal diet, while the experimental group received a diet supplemented with 20% Broussonetia papyrifera silage (dry matter basis). The 70-day experiment included a 10-day adaptation phase followed by a 60-day feeding trial. The results showed that there was no significant difference in growth performance or apparent nutrient digestibility between the experimental and control groups (P > 0.05). However, the experimental group exhibited significantly greater total antioxidant capacity, alongside higher contents of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, immunoglobulins A, M, and G, and interleukins-2, -6, and -8 in the intestinal mucosa; in contrast, malondialdehyde and interleukin-4 contents were significantly reduced (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the dietary inclusion of Broussonetia papyrifera silage resulted in a reduction in the relative abundance of the bacterial genera Turicibacter and Romboutsia (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the feeding of Broussonetia papyrifera silage to Kazakh sheep significantly enhanced immune function, increased antioxidant capacity, and reduced the relative abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria in the sheep without negatively impacting their growth or nutrient digestion, thus supporting the overall health of the animals.
Keywords: Broussonetia papyrifera, antibiotic-free feed, Immunity, Antioxidation, Fecal bacteria
Received: 11 Dec 2024; Accepted: 14 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zheng, Sun, Guo, Yu, Huang and Zhang. 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:
Yingchao Sun, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
Sijin Guo, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
Junyang Yu, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
Rongzheng Huang, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
Fanfan Zhang, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.