Dietary Supplementation With Didancao (Elephantopus scaber L.) Improves Meat Quality and Intestinal Development in Jiaji Ducks

Didancao (Elephantopus scaber L.) has been used as a traditional herbal medicine and has exhibited a beneficial role in animal health. This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with E. scaber on growth performance, meat quality, intestinal morphology, and microbiota composition in ducks. A total of 480 Jiaji ducks (42 days old, male:female ratio = 1:1) were randomly assigned to one of four treatments. There were six replicates per treatment, with 20 ducks per replicate. The ducks in the control group (Con) were fed a basal diet; the three experimental groups were fed a basal diet supplementation with 30 (T1), 80 (T2), and 130 mg/kg (T3) of E. scaber. After a 48-day period of supplementation, growth performance, meat quality, intestinal morphology, and microbiota composition were evaluated. The results showed that no differences were observed in the final body weight, average daily feed intake, and average daily gain among the four groups. Compared with that in the Con group, the feed conversion in the T1 and T2 groups was increased significantly; the T2 group was shown to decrease the concentration of alanine aminotransferase in serum; the T3 group was lower than the Con group in the concentration of aspartate aminotransferase and was higher than the Con group in the concentration of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. The highest concentration of creatinine was observed in the T1 group. The T2 group was higher than the Con group in the contents of Phe, Ala, Gly, Glu, Arg, Lys, Tyr, Leu, Ser, Thr, Asp, and total amino acids in the breast muscle. Moreover, the T2 group was higher than the Con group in the contents of meat C18:2n−6 and polyunsaturated fatty acid. The concentration of inosinic acid in the T1, T2, and T3 groups was significantly higher than that in the Con group. However, the Con group was higher than the T2 or T3 group in the Zn content. The T2 group was lower than the Con group in the jejunal crypt depth. The T3 group was higher than the Con group in the ileal villus height and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth. In addition, the T3 group had a trend to significantly increase the abundance of Fusobacteria. Compared with the Con group, the T1 and T2 groups displayed a higher abundance of Subdoligranulum. Collectively, dietary supplementation with 80 mg/kg of E. scaber improves meat quality and intestinal development in ducks.

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Dietary Lasia spinosa Thw. Improves Growth Performance in Broilers

Frontiers in Nutrition ◽

10.3389/fnut.2021.775223 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Lang Zhang ◽

Yongxing Hong ◽

Yuying Liao ◽

Kui Tian ◽

Haodong Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Antioxidant Status ◽

Dietary Supplementation ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Breast Muscle ◽

Villus Height ◽

Crypt Depth ◽

Α Diversity ◽

Group A

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary Lasia spinosa Thw. (LST) powder supplementation on growth performance, blood metabolites, antioxidant status, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbiome in broiler chickens. A total of 400 1-day-old male Guangxi partridge broilers (initial body weight: 42.52 ± 0.06 g) were randomly allotted to 4 dietary treatments: LST0 group (a basal diet), LST1 group (a basal diet with 1% LST powder), LST2 group (a basal diet with 2% LST powder), LST4 group (a basal diet with 4% LST powder), 10 replicates for each treatment, and 10 broilers in each treatment group. Results indicated that the average daily feed intake of broilers during 22–42 days and the average daily gain of chickens during 1–42 days significantly increased by dietary supplementation of LST powder (p < 0.01), while the feed conversion ratio during the overall periods was decreased by dietary supplementation of LST powder (p < 0.01). Except for the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in liver (p > 0.05), the levels of SOD, catalase (CAT) and GSH-Px in serum, liver, and breast muscle were significantly increased in the LST supplemented groups (p < 0.05), while the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum, liver, and breast muscle were significantly decreased in the LST supplemented groups (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the levels of triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly decreased by the addition of dietary LST powder (p < 0.01), while the levels of HDL-C, Ca, Fe, Mg, and P were linearly increased by the addition of dietary LST powder (p < 0.01). With respect to the gut morphometric, crypt depth was significantly decreased by LST supplementation (p < 0.05), while villus height and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth were notably increased by LST supplementation (p < 0.05). Sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) from the cecal contents of broilers revealed that the composition of the chicken gut microbiota was altered by LST supplementation. The α-diversity of microbiota in broilers was increased (p < 0.05) in the LST1 group, but was decreased (p < 0.05) in the LST2 and LST4 groups compared with the LST0 group. The differential genera enriched in the LST1 group, such as Bacillus, Odoribacter, Sutterella, Anaerofilum, Peptococcus, were closely related to the increased growth performance, antioxidant status, intestinal morphology, Ca, Mg, and reduced blood lipid in the treated broilers.

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Effects of dietary supplementation of guanidino acetic acid on growth performance, thigh meat quality and development of small intestine in Partridge-Shank broilers

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859618001156 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 156 (9) ◽

pp. 1130-1137 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Q. C. Ren ◽

J. J. Xuan ◽

X. C. Yan ◽

Z. Z. Hu ◽

F. Wang

Keyword(s):

Acetic Acid ◽

Small Intestine ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Meat Quality ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Dietary Supplementation ◽

Thigh Muscle ◽

Feed Ratio ◽

Villus Height ◽

Crypt Depth

AbstractThe current experiment aimed at assessing the effects of dietary supplementation of guanidino acetic acid (GAA) on growth performance, thigh meat quality and development of small intestine in broilers. A total of 360 1-day-old female broiler chicks were distributed randomly to four groups of 90 birds each, and each group received GAA dosages of 0, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.2 g/kg of feed dry matter. During the whole experiment of 60 days, broilers hadad libitumaccess to water and feed and the feed intake was recorded daily. All broilers were weighed before and after the experiment, and 30 broilers of each group were selected randomly to slaughter at the end. Increasing dietary supplementation of GAA increased final live weight and daily body weight gain, gain-to-feed ratio, thigh muscle pH value and fibre diameter of broilers, but decreased daily feed intake, drip loss, cooking loss, shear force value, hardness, gumminess and chewiness of thigh meat. In addition, increasing supplementation of GAA quadratically increased duodenal, jejunal and ileal villus height and width and ratio of villus height to crypt depth, but decreased crypt depth. The results indicated that GAA as a feed additive may support better development of small intestine, thereby resulting in improvement of growth performance and meat quality of broilers.

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Intestinal Morphology in Broiler Chickens Supplemented with Propolis and Bee Pollen

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9060301 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 301 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ivana Prakatur ◽

Maja Miskulin ◽

Mirela Pavic ◽

Ksenija Marjanovic ◽

Valerija Blazicevic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Beneficial Effect ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Dietary Supplementation ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Control Group ◽

Villus Height ◽

Bee Pollen ◽

Crypt Depth ◽

Surface Areas

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of dietary supplementation with propolis and bee pollen on the intestinal morphology and absorptive surface areas of chickens. Two hundred day-old Ross 308 chickens (100 male and 100 female) were equally allocated into five groups. Throughout the whole study, the control group of chickens was fed with a basal diet, while the experimental groups of chickens were fed with the same diet supplemented with propolis and bee pollen: P1 = 0.25 g of propolis/kg + 20 g of bee pollen/kg; P2 = 0.5 g of propolis/kg; P3 = 1.0 g of propolis/kg; P4 = 20 g of bee pollen/kg. The duodenal villi of chickens from all experimental groups were significantly higher and wider (p < 0.001), while their duodenal villi crypts were significantly deeper (p < 0.001) in comparison with these parameters in chickens from the control group. The villus height to crypt depth ratio, as well as the absorptive surface areas of broiler chickens, were significantly increased (p < 0.001) in experimental groups of chickens in comparison with the control group. These findings suggest that dietary supplementation with propolis and bee pollen has a beneficial effect on broilers chickens’ intestinal morphophysiology.

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Effects of dietary Lasia spinosa Thw. powder supplementation on growth performance, blood metabolites, antioxidant status, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbiome in Chinese yellow-feathered broilers

10.21203/rs.3.rs-710808/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hong Yongxing ◽

Zhang Lang ◽

Tian Kui ◽

Sun Haodong ◽

Liu Xingting ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Antioxidant Status ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Breast Muscle ◽

Blood Metabolites ◽

Villus Height ◽

Crypt Depth ◽

Group A

Abstract Background: Lasia spinosa Thw. (LST) has been proven to be nutritious and have growth-promoting, antioxidant functions and so on, but its effect in chicken is still unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary LST powder supplementation on growth performance, blood metabolites, antioxidant status, intestinal morphology and cecal microbiome in Chinese yellow-feathered broilers.Methods: A total of 400 one-day-old yellow-feather broilers were randomly allotted to 4 dietary treatments: LST0 group (a basal diet), LST1 group (a basal diet with 1% LST powder), LST2 group (a basal diet with 2% LST powder), LST4 group (a basal diet with 4% LST powder), ten replicates for each treatment and 10 broilers in each treatment group. Results: Results indicated that the average daily feed intake of broilers during 22-42d and the average daily gain of chickens over all periods were significantly increased by dietary supplementation of LST powder compared to a control group, while the feed conversion ratio during the overall periods was markedly decreased. The levels of SOD, CAT and GSH-Px in serum, liver and breast muscle were also significantly increased in LST supplemented groups, while ROS and MDA in serum, liver and breast muscle were decreased. Furthermore, the levels of TG and LDL-C were significantly decreased by the addition of dietary LST powder, while levels of HDL-C, Ca, Fe, Mg and P were linearly increased. Regarding the gut morphometric, crypt depth was significantly decreased by LST supplementation, while villus height and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth were notably increased. Sequencing of 16S rRNA from the cecal contents of broilers revealed that the composition of the chicken gut microbiota was altered by LST supplementation. Moreover, the diversity of microbiota in broilers was increased in the LST1 groups but was decreased in the LST2 and LST4 groups compared with LST0 groups. The differential genera enriched in LST1 groups, such as Bacillus, Odoribacter, Sutterella, Anaerofilum, Peptococcus, were closely related to the increased growth performance, antioxidant status, intestinal morphology, Ca, Mg and reduced blood lipid in the treated broilers. Conclusions: The supplementation of LST powder to the diets of Chinese yellow-feathered broilers improved growth performance, lipid profile, antioxidant indices, intestinal morphology and gut microbiota balance, with its optimum level in yellow-feathered broilers’ diet being 1%.

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Crude palm stearin influences the performance, carcass quality and intestinal morphology of broiler chicks

Journal of the Indonesian Tropical Animal Agriculture ◽

10.14710/jitaa.46.1.48-56 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

pp. 48-56

Author(s):

A. A. Khaskheli ◽

L. Chou

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Meat Quality ◽

Palm Stearin ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Treated Group ◽

Abdominal Fat ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Broiler Chicks ◽

Villus Height ◽

Carcass Yield

The main objective of the investigation was to observe the growth performance, carcass yield, meat quality, and intestinal morphology of broiler chicks with respect to the dietary crude palm stearin (CPS). The study was conducted on 200 birds and dividing them into two experimental groups viz control and CPS treated group with 10 replications of 10 birds in each. Chicks under the control group were fed basal diet only, however in CPS treated group chicks were fed the basal diet supplemented with 3% CPS. Birds were reared for 42 days and data regarding different parameters of study was recorded. Data were analyzed by student T-test and differences were considered significant at P < 0.05.Results indicated CPS treated group pertaining to lower final body weight, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, feed intake, dressing percentage, fillets, thight+drumsticks, and wings percentages. CPS treated group possessed lower liver, spleen, gizzard, and abdominal fat weights. Breast meat holds lower values for shear force, drip loss in CPS treated group, while cooking loss found vice versa. Abdominal fat breast in the meat and thigh skin possessed higher a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) values in CPS treated chicks, while breast skin and thigh meat hold lower a* and b* values in CPS treated chicks compared to control. Intestinal villus height, villus area and crypts depth in duodenum found considerably higher in the CPS treated chicks. Jejunum in CPS treated group possessed higher crypt depth but villus height and villus area remained lower. In conclusion, CPS impairs overall growth performance, carcass yield and meat quality but supports the intestinal morphology.

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Effects of Dietary Ginsenoside Rg1 Supplementation on Growth Performance, Gut Health, and Serum Immunity in Broiler Chickens

Frontiers in Nutrition ◽

10.3389/fnut.2021.705279 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Zehe Song ◽

Kaihuan Xie ◽

Yunlu Zhang ◽

Qian Xie ◽

Xi He ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Ginsenoside Rg1 ◽

Gut Health ◽

Villus Height ◽

Final Body Weight ◽

Crypt Depth

The restriction and banning of antibiotics in farm animal feed has led to a search for promising substitutes for antibiotics to promote growth and maintain health for livestock and poultry. Ginsenoside Rg1, which is one of the most effective bioactive components in ginseng, has been reported to have great potential to improve the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative status of animals. In this study, 360 Chinese indigenous broiler chickens with close initial body weight were divided into 5 groups. Each group contained 6 replicates and each replicate had 12 birds. The experimental groups were: the control group, fed with the basal diet; the antibiotic group, fed basal diet + 300 mg/kg 15% chlortetracycline; and three Rg1 supplementation groups, fed with basal diet + 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg ginsenoside Rg1, respectively. The growth performance, immune function, and intestinal health of birds were examined at early (day 1–28) and late (day 29–51) stages. Our results showed that dietary supplementation of 300 mg/kg ginsenoside Rg1 significantly improved the growth performance for broilers, particularly at the late stage, including an increase in final body weight and decrease of feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05). Additionally, the integrity of intestinal morphology (Villus height, Crypt depth, and Villus height/Crypt depth) and tight junction (ZO-1 and Occludin), and the secretion of sIgA in the intestine were enhanced by the supplementation of Rg1 in chicken diet (P < 0.05). The immune organ index showed that the weight of the thymus, spleen, and bursa was significantly increased at the early stage in ginsenoside Rg1 supplementation groups (P < 0.05). Our findings might demonstrate that ginsenoside Rg1 could serve as a promising antibiotic alternative to improve the growth performance and gut health for broiler chickens mainly through its amelioration of inflammatory and oxidative activities.

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Effects of Rhamnolipids on Growth Performance, Immune Function, and Cecal Microflora in Linnan Yellow Broilers Challenged with Lipopolysaccharides

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics10080905 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 905

Author(s):

Haoran Zhang ◽

Xiaorong Yu ◽

Qing Li ◽

Guangtian Cao ◽

Jie Feng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Function ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Normal Saline ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Fatty Acid Content ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Villus Height ◽

Crypt Depth ◽

Immunological Stress

This present study aimed to investigate the effects of rhamnolipids (RLS) on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune function, short-chain fatty acid content, and microflora community in broiler chickens challenged with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). A total of 450 broiler chickens were randomly allocated into three groups: basal diet with no supplement (NCO), basal diet with bacitracin (ANT), and basal diet with rhamnolipids (RLS). After 56 d of feeding, 20 healthy broilers were selected from each group, with half being intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and the other half with normal saline. Treatments with LPS were labelled LPS-NCO, LPS-ANT, and LPS-RLS, whereas treatments with normal saline were labelled NS-NCO, NS-ANT, and NS-RLS. LPS-challenged birds had lower jejunal villus height and higher crypt depth than unchallenged birds. LPS-RLS broilers had increased jejunal villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio (V/C) but lower crypt depth than LPS-NCO. Dietary supplementation with RLS reduced the LPS-induced immunological stress. Compared with LPS-NCO, birds in LPS-RLS had lower concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. In LPS-challenged broilers, RLS and ANT increased the concentrations of IgA, IgM, and IgY compared with LPS-NCO. In LPS treatments, RLS enhanced the contents of acetic acid, butyrate, isobutyric acid, isovalerate, and valerate more than LPS-NCO birds. High-throughput sequencing indicated that RLS supplementation led to changes in the cecal microbial community of broilers. At the species level, Clostridium-sp-Marseille-p3244 and Slakia_eqcsolifaciens were more abundant in NS-RLS than in NS-NCO broilers. In summary, RLS improved the growth performance and relative abundance of cecal microbiota and reduced the LPS-induced immunological stress in broiler chickens.

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Dietary supplementation of Agaricus bisporus stalk meal on growth performance, carcass and organ traits, meat quality, cecum mesophilic aerobic bacteria counts and intestinal histology in broiler chickens

Ciência Rural ◽

10.1590/0103-8478cr20201051 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 52 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Aydin Altop ◽

Isa Coskun ◽

Ayse Gul Filik ◽

Huseyin Cayan ◽

Ahmet Sahin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Meat Quality ◽

Agaricus Bisporus ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Body Weight Gain ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Aerobic Bacteria ◽

Breast Meat ◽

Villus Height ◽

Crypt Depth

ABSTRACT: Effects of dietary Agaricus bisporus mixture or stalk or cap on growth performance, carcass components and some meat quality parameters, mesophilic aerobic bacterial counts, and intestinal histomorphology in broiler chickens were investigated. Two hundred and forty one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chickens were divided into 4 experimental groups with 4 replicates, each including 15 birds. Chickens were fed with basal diet (C), mushroom mixture (MM, 10 g stalk+10 g cap/kg diet), mushroom stalk (MS, 20 g/kg diet) and mushroom cap (MC, 20 g/kg diet). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was improved (P < 0.01) by dietary MS while feed intake (FI) decreased (P < 0.01) in all treatment groups compared to control. However, body weight gain (BWG) was decreased (P < 0.01) by MC inclusion. Mushroom supplemented groups had higher (P < 0.05) mesophilic aerobic bacteria in the cecum. MS inclusion increased villus height to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum (P < 0.01) and villus height in the ileum (P < 0.01) and jejunum (P < 0.05). MC increased (P < 0.01) crypt depth in the jejunum. There were no statistical differences among groups for carcass components (P > 0.05). The L* values were decreased (P < 0.01) in thigh meat but increased (P < 0.01) in breast meat by mushroom inclusion. The a* values were decreased (P < 0.01) and b* values were increased (P < 0.05) in both thigh and breast meat with mushroom addition to diet. The obtained results indicated that A. bisporus stalk meal at an inclusion level of 20 g/kg of diet had favourable effects on growth performance with higher feed efficiency, improved intestinal morphology with higher villus height and increased meat quality of broiler chickens.

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Effects of Fermented Tea Residue on Fattening Performance, Meat Quality, Digestive Performance, Serum Antioxidant Capacity, and Intestinal Morphology in Fatteners

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10020185 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 185 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiaoqing Ding ◽

Huaiyu Li ◽

Zhiwei Wen ◽

Yong Hou ◽

Genliang Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Antioxidant Capacity ◽

Meat Quality ◽

Dietary Supplementation ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

The Other ◽

Crypt Depth ◽

Fattening Performance

This study investigated the dietary supplementation of tea residue fermented by Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to explore its effects on growth performance, digestion performance, meat quality, serum antioxidant capacity, and intestinal morphology in pigs bred for rapid growth, also known as fatteners. One hundred and ninety-two healthy “Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire” ternary hybrid pigs (body weight 70 ± 1.0 kg) were randomly divided into four groups according to the feeding test requirements, with four replicates in each group, and 12 fatteners per replicate. The control group (CG) was fed the basal diet. Treatments 1 (T1), 2 (T2), and 3 (T3), comprising ratios of 10%, 15%, and 20% of tea residue were added to the basal diet. The test period was 60 days. The results showed that supplementation of FTR in fatteners’ diets increased final body weight (FBW), average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the T1 and T2 groups (p < 0.05). Compared with the other groups, the lightness (L*) and pH were significantly affected in the T2 group (p < 0.05). Compared with the CG, dietary supplementation of FTR significantly increased the nutrient digestibility of crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), calcium (Ca), and phosphorus (P), improved the lipase and trypsin activities, and reduced drip loss and the shear force of fatteners (p < 0.05). Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were significantly increased in the T2 and T3 groups compared with the other groups (p < 0.05). Supplementation of FTR in the jejunum significantly increased the villi height of the T2 group and the ratio of villi height to crypt depth of the FTR groups. Compared with the other two groups, the T2 and T3 groups significantly reduced the ratio of the villous height to crypt depth in the duodenum (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the tea residue after fermentation was shown to have beneficial effects on the fattening performance, digestion performance, meat quality, serum antioxidant capacity, and intestinal morphology of fatteners.

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Dietary Chitooligosaccharide Inclusion as an Alternative to Antibiotics Improves Intestinal Morphology, Barrier Function, Antioxidant Capacity, and Immunity of Broilers at Early Age

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9080493 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 493 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jun Li ◽

Yefei Cheng ◽

Yueping Chen ◽

Hengman Qu ◽

Yurui Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antioxidant Capacity ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Barrier Function ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Immunoglobulin M ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Control Group ◽

Villus Height ◽

Crypt Depth ◽

Antibiotic Group

This study aimed to investigate the effects of chitooligosaccharide (COS) inclusion as an alternative to antibiotics on growth performance, intestinal morphology, barrier function, antioxidant capacity, and immunity in broilers. In total, 144 one-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly assigned into 3 groups and fed a basal diet free from antibiotics (control group) or the same basal diet further supplemented with either chlortetracycline (antibiotic group) or COS, for 21 days. Compared with the control group, inclusion of COS reduced the feed to gain ratio, the jejunal crypt depth, the plasma diamine oxidase activity, and the endotoxin concentration, as well as jejunal and ileal malondialdehyde contents, whereas increased duodenal villus height, duodenal and jejunal ratio of villus height to crypt depth, intestinal immunoglobulin G, and jejunal immunoglobulin M (IgM) contents were observed, with the values of these parameters being similar or better to that of the antibiotic group. Additionally, supplementation with COS enhanced the superoxide dismutase activity and IgM content of the duodenum and up-regulated the mRNA level of claudin three in the jejunum and ileum, when compared with the control and antibiotic groups. In conclusion, dietary COS inclusion (30 mg/kg), as an alternative to antibiotics, exerts beneficial effects on growth performance, intestinal morphology, barrier function, antioxidant capacity, and immunity in broilers.

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