Effects Of Anoectochilus Roxburghii Extract Supplementation On Growth Performance,Meat Quality,Fat Deposition And Cecal Flora Of Lingshan Native Chicken

Anoectochilus roxburghii,as a traditional Chinese medicine,has been revealed to have a variety of beneficial effects on humans,such as antiinflammation,anti-tumor,improving diabetes,and protecting and nourishing liver,which are mostly studied in the medical direction,but the effects in poultry are rarely reported.As an excellent chicken variety in Guangxi,Guangxi Lingshan chicken was selected because of its coarse feeding resistance,strong wildness,and good disease resistance and stress resistance.In order to increase the growth rate of chickens,the provision of high-intensity energy feed is a common means of animal husbandry,which has also led to a series of problems.Excessive abdominal fat deposition and poor meat quality are the two most common problems encountered by the chicken industry.Many studies have found that natural plant extracts play an important role in the abdominal fat metabolism and meat quality of poultry.This experiment explored the effects of Anoectochilus roxburghii extract on growth performance,meat quality,fat deposition and intestinal flora of lingshan native chickens.A total of 120 healthy Guangxi Lingshan indigenous chickens(19-day-old)with similar body condition were randomly divided into three treatment groups(0% Ar E,0.15% Ar E or 0.30%Ar E according to body weight)after three days of pre-feeding period,with five replicates in each group and eight chickens in each replicate.The 0%Ar E group was used as the control group without adding any extract;Anoectochilus roxburghii extract 1.5 g/kg was added to the 0.15% Ar E group,and Anoectochilus roxburghii extract 3.0 g/kg was added to the 0.30%Ar E group.Samples were collected at 63 days of age during which all animals were free to feed and drink.The test results were as follows:1)Productive performance: The live weight of Lingshan indigenous chicken was significantly increased(P < 0.05)but the slaughter rate and the total evisceration rate were not affected by the Anoectochilus roxburghii extract in the diet(P > 0.05).2)Lipid metabolism and serum antioxidant activity: The addition of Anoectochilus roxburghii extract to the diet significantly reduced the triglyceride content in liver and serum(P < 0.05),but had no significant effect on the total cholesterol content in liver and serum(P > 0.05).Compared with the control group,the treatment with Anoectochilus roxburghii extract significantly increased the serum antioxidant capacity of chickens(P < 0.05).Addition of Anoectochilus roxburghii extract to the diet significantly reduced the abdominal fat content in chickens(P < 0.05).The results of adipose tissue sections showed that the adipocyte areas with 0.15%Ar E and 0.30% Ar E were smaller(P < 0.05).Quantitative results of genes related to lipid metabolism in liver and fat showed that the expression levels of genes related to lipogenesis were significantly decreased(P < 0.05)and the expression levels of genes related to lipolysis were significantly increased(P < 0.05)with 0.15% Ar E and 0.30% Ar E.3)Meat quality: 45 min after slaughter,the 0.15% Ar E and 0.30% Ar E groups had lower p H,conductivity,shear force and triglycerides(P < 0.05),but there was no difference in meat color(P > 0.05).4)Intestinal flora and combined analysis: The α diversity of cecal intestinal flora was significantly increased by adding Anoectochilus roxburghii extract in the diet(P < 0.05);At the phylum level,the abundance of Firmicutes was significantly decreased and the abundance of Bacteroides was significantly increased after the addition of Anoectochilus roxburghii extract,and the ratio(Firmicutes/Bacteroides)was significantly lower(P <0.05).On a horizontal level,It was highly phenotypically related to the selection of the genera Phascolarctobacterium and Clostridium by phenotypic correlation(P < 0.05).In conclusion,the addition of Anoectochilus roxburghii extract to the diet could reduce the abdominal fat deposition of lingshan native chicken by reducing fat synthesis and promoting lipolysis;The muscle quality can be increase by improving muscle oxidation resistance and increase muscle triglycerides;The intestinal absorption can be regulated by increasing the αdiversity of the intestinal flora,reducing the ratio of Bacteroides to Sclerotinia,and changing the abundance of some species,thereby improving the metabolism of the body.These data indicated that Ar E was a promising candidate feed additive for reducing abdominal fat deposition and improving meat quality in the chicken industry.