Chinese herb ultrafine powder supplementation improves egg nutritional value and quality in laying hens.

This study evaluates the effects of dietary Chinese herb ultrafine powder (CHUP) supplementation in late-phase laying hens on the quality and nutritional values of eggs. A total of 576 Xinyang black-feather laying hens (300-day-old) were randomly allocated into eight groups for a 120-day feeding trial. Each group contained eight replicates with nine hens per replicate. The experimental groups included the control (basal diet) and different levels of CHUP groups (details in 'Materials and methods'). The results showed that the eggshell strength was increased (p < 0.05) in the L, LF, L-LF, L-T, and LF-T groups on day 60 of the trial. In addition, the plasma estradiol level in the L-LF, LF-T, and L-LF-T groups and unsaturated fatty acids concentrations in egg yolk of the CHUP groups (except LF-T group) were increased, whereas total cholesterol (T, L-LF, L-T, and L-LF-T groups) in egg yolk and the atherogenicity (T, L-T, and L-LF-T groups) and thrombogenicity (T, L-LF, L-T, and L-LF-T groups) indexes were decreased (p < 0.05) on day 60 of the trial compared with the control group. Moreover, bitter amino acids in egg albumen were decreased (p < 0.05) in the L-LF group on day 60 and the L-LF-T group on day 120 of the trial. Collectively, these findings indicate that dietary CHUP supplementation could improve eggshell quality and increase plasma reproductive hormone, fatty acid and amino acid composition, and nutritional values of eggs, especially L-LF and L-LF-T.

Dietary supplementation with Chinese herb ultrafine powder improves intestinal morphology and physical barrier function by altering jejunal microbiota in laying hens.

Introduction: Chinese medicinal herbs play important roles in anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities. However, the effects of Chinese herb ultrafine powder (CHUP) on laying hens still need to be elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary CHUP supplementation on jejunal morphology, physical barrier function, and microbiota in laying hens. Methods: A total of 576 Xinyang black-feather laying hens (300 days old) were randomly assigned into eight groups, with eight replicates per group and nine hens per replicate. The hens were fed a basal diet (control group) and a basal diet supplemented with 0.5% Leonuri herba (LH group), 0.25% Ligustri lucidi fructus (LF group), 0.25% Taraxaci herba (TH group), 0.5% LH + 0.25% LF (LH-LF group), 0.5% LH + 0.25% TH (LH-TH group), 0.25% LF + 0.25% TH (LF-TH group), and 0.5% LH + 0.25% LF + 0.25% TH (LH-LF-TH group), respectively, for 120 days. Results: The results showed that dietary LH-LF and LH-LF-TH supplementation increased (p < 0.05) the jejunal villus height to crypt depth ratio of laying hens. Dietary LF-TH supplementation up-regulated jejunal claudin-5 expression, while LH supplementation up-regulated jejunal claudin-1 expression and increased the jejunal abundances of potentially beneficial bacteria related to short-chain fatty acids and bacteriocins production, such as Blautia, Carnobacterium, Clostridiales, and Erysipelotrichales (p < 0.05). In addition, dietary LH supplementation enriched (p < 0.05) the tetracycline biosynthesis, butirosin/neomycin biosynthesis, and D-arginine/D-ornithine metabolism, whereas steroid biosynthesis and limonene/pinene degradation were enriched (p < 0.05) in the LH-LF and LH-LF-TH groups. Moreover, Spearman's correlation analysis revealed the potential correlation between the abundance of the jejunal microbiota and jejunal morphology and the physical barrier function of laying hens. Discussion: Collectively, these findings suggest that dietary CHUP supplementation could enhance the beneficial bacteria abundance, physical barrier function, and metabolic function associated with short-chain fatty acids and bacteriocins production. Moreover, combined supplementation of dietary CHUP showed better effects than the sole CHUP supplementation.