Effects of three different plant-derived polysaccharides on growth performance, immunity, antioxidant function, and cecal microbiota of broilers.

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of dietary plant polysaccharides on growth performance, immune status and intestinal health in broilers. We randomly divided 960 one-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks into 4 groups. The control (CON) group was fed a basal diet, and the remaining groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 1,000 mg/kg ginseng polysaccharide (GPS), astragalus polysaccharides (APS), or Salvia miltiorrhiza polysaccharide (SMP) for 42 d. Dietary supplementation with SMP significantly increased BW at 21 and 42 days of age, ADG and ADFI during the starter and whole experimental period, decreased the concentrations of IL-1β, TNF-α and MDA, increased the levels of IL-4 and IL-10 and CAT activity in the serum (P < 0.05). GPS, APS, and SMP supplementation increased serum levels of immunoglobulins, activities of GSH-Px, T-SOD and T-AOC, and cecal concentrations of acetic acid and propionic acid of broilers (P < 0.05). Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing results showed that the relative abundance of Firmicutes was decreased while the relative abundance of Bacteroidota, Alistipes, and Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group were increased (P < 0.05) in the GPS, APS, and GMP groups compared with the CON group. Dietary GPS, APS, and SMP supplementation could improve growth performance, enhance immune function by increasing serum immunoglobulin and regulating cytokines, improve antioxidant function by increasing serum antioxidant enzyme activity, increase volatile fatty acid levels and improve the microbial composition in the cecum of broilers. Dietary SMP supplementation had the optimal effect in this study. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.