ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Microbes
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1622229
This article is part of the Research TopicFermented Foods in Modern Nutrition: Exploring Health Benefits and Research InnovationsView all articles
Fermented cottonseed meal improves production performance, immune function and intestinal microecological environment of laying hens and its nutritional properties
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China
- 2School of Light Industry Science and Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
- 3Central Laboratory, Affiliated Hospital, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China, Baoding, China
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As a sustainable source of protein, cottonseed meal (CSM) can effectively ease the pressure on global demand for animal protein feed. In this study, we systematically evaluated the effects of fermented CSM (FCSM) as a partial replacement of soybean meal (SBM) on the production performance, immune system, intestinal morphology and microbiota composition of laying hens. The enrichment of FCSM for characteristic nutrient metabolites and key pathways was further explored. The 180 40-week-old Hyland Brown laying hens were randomly divided into a control group (CON, fed SBM) and an experimental group (FCSM, fed FCSM). The results showed that the feed-to-egg ratio and egg quality indexes (eggshell thickness, eggshell strength, albumen height and Haugh units) of laying hens in the FCSM group were significantly better than those of the CON group (p<0.05). Additionally, splenic index, immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM and IgA) and albumin/globulin ratio were stable in the FCSM group. 16S rRNA sequencing results indicated that FCSM significantly increased the species richness of the gut flora as well as the beneficial bacteria such as Rikenellace_ae_RC9_gut_group and Romboutsia (p<0.05). Non-targeted metabolomics analyses indicated that microbial solid-state fermentation technology increased the levels of nutrients in CSM, such as L-glutamine, ornithine, citrulline, and D-galactose. This study provides a theoretical basis for resource reuse of CSM and precision nutrition of laying hens.
Keywords: Fermented cottonseed meal, feed, laying hens, nutrition, Intestinal health, Metabolomic profile
Received: 02 May 2025; Accepted: 17 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Li, Wang, Gao, Zhang, Hao and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zhimin Hao, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China
Cheng Zhou, Central Laboratory, Affiliated Hospital, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China, Baoding, China
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