Effects of Different Levels of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Immunity, Intestinal Barrier and Antioxidant Capacity of Meat Ducks
<b>Background:</b> In vitro findings on the biological functions of Lycium barbarum flavonoids (LBFs) as feed additives are limited. This study aimed to explore the effects of different concentrations of LBFs on the growth performance, immune function, intestinal barrier, and antioxidant...
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | Antioxidants |
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| author | Minhang Tu Gentan Cai Longfei Ma Leyan Yan Tian Wang Zhendan Shi Chao Wang Zhe Chen |
| author_facet | Minhang Tu Gentan Cai Longfei Ma Leyan Yan Tian Wang Zhendan Shi Chao Wang Zhe Chen |
| author_sort | Minhang Tu |
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| description | <b>Background:</b> In vitro findings on the biological functions of Lycium barbarum flavonoids (LBFs) as feed additives are limited. This study aimed to explore the effects of different concentrations of LBFs on the growth performance, immune function, intestinal barrier, and antioxidant capacity of meat ducks. A total of 240 one-day-old male meat ducks were randomly allocated to four groups, each receiving a basal diet supplemented with 0 (control), 250, 500, or 1000 mg/kg of LBFs for 42 d. <b>Results:</b> The results showed that dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg of LBFs resulted in a significant increase in average daily feed intake, body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio. Dietary supplementation with 500 or 1000 mg/kg of LBFs resulted in significant decreases in serum levels of D-lactic acid and lipopolysaccharide. Dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg LBFs significantly decreased diamine oxidase activity and enhanced the activities of catalase, total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione peroxidase in the jejunal mucosa, as well as the activity of total superoxide dismutase and the content of glutathione in the ileal mucosa, while significantly lowering the content of malondialdehyde in the ileal mucosa. Dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg LBFs significantly up-regulated the mRNA expression of genes associated with intestinal barrier function and antioxidant capacity in the jejunal and ileal mucosa, as well as the protein expression of these antioxidant genes, and led to a significant reduction in the mRNA expression of pro-apoptotic and inflammatory-related genes. <b>Conclusions:</b> The addition of LBFs to the diet improved the growth performance, intestinal barrier function, immune response, and antioxidant capacity of the ducks, which may be closely associated with the activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway and the inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway. The optimal dietary inclusion level of LBFs in ducks was 500 mg/kg. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6744a607037142beacbd4fc914818548 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3921 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Antioxidants |
| spelling | doaj-art-6744a607037142beacbd4fc9148185482025-01-24T13:19:22ZengMDPI AGAntioxidants2076-39212025-01-011416710.3390/antiox14010067Effects of Different Levels of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Immunity, Intestinal Barrier and Antioxidant Capacity of Meat DucksMinhang Tu0Gentan Cai1Longfei Ma2Leyan Yan3Tian Wang4Zhendan Shi5Chao Wang6Zhe Chen7College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaCollege of Animal Sciences and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaCollege of Animal Sciences and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaInstitute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, ChinaCollege of Animal Sciences and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaInstitute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, ChinaCollege of Animal Sciences and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, ChinaInstitute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China<b>Background:</b> In vitro findings on the biological functions of Lycium barbarum flavonoids (LBFs) as feed additives are limited. This study aimed to explore the effects of different concentrations of LBFs on the growth performance, immune function, intestinal barrier, and antioxidant capacity of meat ducks. A total of 240 one-day-old male meat ducks were randomly allocated to four groups, each receiving a basal diet supplemented with 0 (control), 250, 500, or 1000 mg/kg of LBFs for 42 d. <b>Results:</b> The results showed that dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg of LBFs resulted in a significant increase in average daily feed intake, body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio. Dietary supplementation with 500 or 1000 mg/kg of LBFs resulted in significant decreases in serum levels of D-lactic acid and lipopolysaccharide. Dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg LBFs significantly decreased diamine oxidase activity and enhanced the activities of catalase, total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione peroxidase in the jejunal mucosa, as well as the activity of total superoxide dismutase and the content of glutathione in the ileal mucosa, while significantly lowering the content of malondialdehyde in the ileal mucosa. Dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg LBFs significantly up-regulated the mRNA expression of genes associated with intestinal barrier function and antioxidant capacity in the jejunal and ileal mucosa, as well as the protein expression of these antioxidant genes, and led to a significant reduction in the mRNA expression of pro-apoptotic and inflammatory-related genes. <b>Conclusions:</b> The addition of LBFs to the diet improved the growth performance, intestinal barrier function, immune response, and antioxidant capacity of the ducks, which may be closely associated with the activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway and the inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway. The optimal dietary inclusion level of LBFs in ducks was 500 mg/kg.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/14/1/67<i>Lycium barbarum</i> flavonoidsmeat duckgrowth performanceintestinal functionantioxidation |
| spellingShingle | Minhang Tu Gentan Cai Longfei Ma Leyan Yan Tian Wang Zhendan Shi Chao Wang Zhe Chen Effects of Different Levels of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Immunity, Intestinal Barrier and Antioxidant Capacity of Meat Ducks Antioxidants <i>Lycium barbarum</i> flavonoids meat duck growth performance intestinal function antioxidation |
| title | Effects of Different Levels of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Immunity, Intestinal Barrier and Antioxidant Capacity of Meat Ducks |
| title_full | Effects of Different Levels of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Immunity, Intestinal Barrier and Antioxidant Capacity of Meat Ducks |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Different Levels of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Immunity, Intestinal Barrier and Antioxidant Capacity of Meat Ducks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Different Levels of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Immunity, Intestinal Barrier and Antioxidant Capacity of Meat Ducks |
| title_short | Effects of Different Levels of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Immunity, Intestinal Barrier and Antioxidant Capacity of Meat Ducks |
| title_sort | effects of different levels of i lycium barbarum i flavonoids on growth performance immunity intestinal barrier and antioxidant capacity of meat ducks |
| topic | <i>Lycium barbarum</i> flavonoids meat duck growth performance intestinal function antioxidation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/14/1/67 |
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