Dietary supplementation with ellagic acid improves the growth performance, meat quality, and metabolomics profile of yellow-feathered broiler chickens

Fang Wang; Ying Cheng; Lichen Yin; Shida Liu; Xinrui Li; Meizhu Xie; Jiayang Li; Jiashun Chen; Chenxing Fu

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2024.103700

Dietary supplementation with ellagic acid improves the growth performance, meat quality, and metabolomics profile of yellow-feathered broiler chickens

Poult Sci. 2024 Mar 30;103(6):103700. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103700. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Fang Wang¹, Ying Cheng¹, Lichen Yin¹, Shida Liu¹, Xinrui Li¹, Meizhu Xie¹, Jiayang Li¹, Jiashun Chen¹, Chenxing Fu²

Affiliations

¹ Animal Nutritional Genome and Germplasm Innovation Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan 410128, China.
² Animal Nutritional Genome and Germplasm Innovation Research Center, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan 410128, China. Electronic address: chenxing1110@outlook.com.

Abstract

The aim of this research was to explore the effects of ellagic acid (EA) on growth performance, meat quality, and metabolomics profile of broiler chickens. 240 healthy yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into 4 groups (6 replicates/group and 10 broilers /replicate): 1) a standard diet (CON); 2) CON+0.01% EA; 3) CON+0.02% EA; 4) CON+0.04% EA. Compared with the CON group, dietary 0.02% EA increased linearly and quadratically the ADG and lowered F/G ratio from 29 to 56 d and from 1 to 56 d of age (P < 0.05). The EA groups had higher spleen index and showed linear and quadratic improve thymus index (P < 0.05). A total of 0.02% EA linearly and quadratically increased the leg muscle percentage and quadratically increased the breast muscle percentage (P < 0.05). Compared to the control diet, 0.02% EA decreased quadratically the L* and increased a* of breast muscle at 45 min postslaughter (P < 0.05), and quadratically decreased (P < 0.05) the b* and increased linearly and quadratically (P < 0.05) drip loss. Additionally, EA improved linearly and quadratically (P < 0.05) serum total protein concentration and reduced linearly and quadratically (P < 0.05) serum blood urea nitrogen concentration. A total of 0.02% EA quadratically increased catalase activity and decreased malondialdehyde concentration in breast muscle compared with the control diet (P < 0.05). 0.02% and 0.04% EA could linearly and quadratically increase (P < 0.05) the concentrations of histidine, leucine and essential amino acids (EAA), 0.02% EA could linearly and quadratically increase (P < 0.05) the concentrations of threonine, glutamate, and flavored amino acids in breast muscle. 0.02% EA linearly and quadratically improved the C20:3n6, C22:6n3, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrations, and the ratio of PUFA to saturated fatty acids (SFA), but reduced the C16:0 and the SFA concentrations in breast muscle than the CON group (P < 0.05). The EA diet linearly increased (P = 0.035) and quadratically tended (P = 0.068) to regulate the C18:2n6c concentration of breast muscle. Metabolomics showed that alanine metabolism, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism were the most differentially abundant. These results showed that EA supported moderate positive effects on growth performance, meat quality, and metabolomics profile of broilers.

Keywords: ellagic acid; meat quality; metabolomics profile; slaughter performance; yellow-feathered broiler.