Abstract
In the era of increased antibiotic resistance and ever-stricter control on antibiotic use, it is urgent to develop green, safe, and non-residue alternatives to antibiotics applied to the poultry industry. To this end, we supplied the potential Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) fermented Astragalus in the diet of laying hens, with a final addition of 3‰. Its effects have been assessed on laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant and immunological status, and intestinal microbiota, and are compared to the control group, to the Astragalus group containing 3‰ unfermented Astragalus, and to the L. plantarum group containing 2% L. plantarum [5 × 108 colony-forming unit (CFU) per milliliter (mL)]. During the second half of the experimental period (15 to 28 days), the egg production rate was considerably higher in the fermented Astragalus group than that in the other groups, with the fermented Astragalus group having the lowest feed conversion ratio. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was noted among treatments on egg quality. Fermented Astragalus-treated hens exhibited significantly increased catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in serum, and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum. Furthermore, fermented Astragalus supplementation resulted in a significant increase in ileal microbiota abundance relative to control. In conclusion, feeding laying hens with L. plantarum fermented Astragalus has beneficial effects on production, antioxidant potential, immunity, and ileal microbiota. L. plantarum fermented Astragalus is expected to be a novel feed additive used in poultry production.
Highlights
Eggs are one of the most crucial sources of animal protein and nutritional content in human diets
During day 1 to day 14, there were no differences in the laying rate and feed conversion ratio (FCR) among four groups (P > 0.05), with hens fed with fermented Astragalus had the highest laying rate
The FCR of the fermented Astragalus group was reduced by 6.6% compared with that of the control group (P < 0.05), while the FCR of the Astragalus group and L. plantarum group displayed no significant differences as compared with the controls (P > 0.05)
Summary
Eggs are one of the most crucial sources of animal protein and nutritional content in human diets. Traditional Chinese herbal medicines can be processed by microbial fermentation for improving its quality (Zhu et al 2014). Fermentation of Chinese herbal medicine mediated by microbes can degrade macromolecule-materials into small ones and reduce their side effects (Ai et al 2019). Because microorganisms and their metabolic products can regulate the bioactive products of traditional Chinese herbal medicines, there is a close relationship between microorganisms and traditional Chinese herbal medicines. Astragalus is a universal traditional Chinese herbal medicine and its main active pharmaceutical ingredients include polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, anthraquinones, alkaloids, amino acids, β-sitosterol and metallic elements (Li et al 2014). Further investigation showed that fermented Astragalus improves broiler growth performance, enhances serum antioxidant status, and reduces fecal pathogenic microbiota of broiler chickens (Qiao et al 2018b)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
