ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Dietary Fructus Sophorae Extracts Supplementation Improved Production Performance, Antioxidant Capacity and Intestinal Microbiota in Broiler Chickens
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Non-Grain Feed Resources (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
- 2Shandong Dezhou Shenniu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Dezhou, China
- 3Qingdao Huanshan Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Qingdao, China
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This study was conducted to examine the effects of fructus sophorae extracts (SE) on the production performance, serum biochemistry and antioxidant, intestinal morphology and cecal microbiota of broilers. There were total of 1088 one-day-old Arbor Acres (AA) broiler chickens were randomly assigned to four treatment groups with eight replicates each, and 34 chickens per replicate. Broilers recieved basal diets supplemented with 0 (CON), 100 (SE100), 150 (SE150) and 200 (SE200) mg/kg SE for 42 days, respectively. The results showed that SE had no significant effect on the growth performance of broilers. However, SE supplementation significantly increased the organic matter and crude ash metabolic rates, while decreased serum alkaline phosphatase activity (p < 0.05). In addition, 150 and 200 mg/kg SE supplementation increased serum total protein and total cholesterol contents (p < 0.05). SE supplementation also improved antioxidant capacity by decreasing serum and liver malondialdehyde contents, and increasing serum glutathione peroxidase and liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities (p < 0.05). On the other hand, 150 and 200 mg/kg SE supplementation increased serum SOD activity (p < 0.05). Moreover, SE supplementation improved liver morphology. Also, 150 and 200 mg/kg SE supplementation improved duodenal and ileal morphology by increasing villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio (p < 0.05). Furthermore, SE supplementation balanced the intestinal microbiota composition and improved microbial diversity. In conclusion, dietary 150 mg/kg SE supplementation could improve nutrient utilization efficiency, biochemical metabolism, antioxidant capacity and intestinal and liver health in broilers considering feed cost. This study provides a basis for SE application in broiler production.
Keywords: Antioxidation, broiler, intestinal microbiota, performance, Sophorae
Received: 30 Oct 2025; Accepted: 15 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Zheng, Wei, Wei, Yuan, Shuzhen, Yang and Jiao. 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: Ning Jiao
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