Poultry Science最新文献

{"title":"Research note: A machine learning approach for authentication of laying hen housing systems based on egg quality parameters.","authors":"Sofie Van Nerom, Annatachja De Grande, René Heim, Evelyne Delezie, Kobe Buyse","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107219","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107219","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Eggs originating from outdoor housing systems, such as organic and free-range production, are often sold at a higher price than conventional eggs. This price difference creates an incentive for potential fraud, highlighting the need for reliable and cost-effective authentication methods. In this study, we evaluated whether internal and external egg quality parameters could be used to classify eggs according to housing system (indoor vs. outdoor) using supervised machine learning. In 2019, a total of 33,216 eggs were collected from 76 commercial farms across Belgium. Egg quality parameters were measured, including whole egg weight, dynamic stiffness, shell deformation, breaking force, albumen height, Haugh unit, shell thickness, yolk color, and cuticle thickness. A classification model was developed using TPOT to optimize supervised machine learning pipelines. The best model trained with all features was an XGBClassifier, which achieved an overall testing accuracy of 76.6%. A second model trained using only yolk color as a feature, implemented with an ExtraTreesClassifier, reached an accuracy of 74.1%. Although the full model performed slightly better in terms of overall accuracy, the yolk-only model showed the lowest false positive rate for outdoor eggs (7% vs. 13%), an important parameter in the context of fraud detection. The overall accuracy of the models was moderate and the best predictor was yolk color. Its potential as screening tool has to be nuanced. Yolk color is highly influenced by the diet and a possible bias with housing system could be suggested as dietary recommendations vary according to management practices. Egg quality parameters seem to be robust and little affected by the housing system. The use of machine learning on quality traits needs to be reconsidered as a tool for distinguishing the origin of eggs. Since the model was trained exclusively on Belgian eggs and no white hens were included in the dataset, additional data such as diet, breed and origin, is needed to confirm potential other parameters.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107219"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13292586/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148265891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comparative study on meat quality traits and metabolomic profiles of different duck breeds following water boiling.","authors":"Zhengyu Fan, Xiujuan Wu, Hongyu Liu, Ziang Chen, Zhao Yang, Hehe Liu, Liang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107223","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107223","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Duck meat and broth are widely consumed for their distinctive flavors, which are significantly influenced by breed-a critical determinant of consumer preference. Using untargeted metabolomics, this study identified key molecular compounds underlying flavor differences in cooked meat and broth across duck breeds: Cherry Valley Duck (CV), Jinling White Duck (JL), and Liancheng White Duck (LD). The results revealed that JL exhibited intermediate levels of flavor-related metabolites-including cysteine, 4‑butyl‑5-propylthiazole, furaneol A, and several dipeptides-compared to CV and LD, which may contribute to its more balanced and appealing flavor profile. Water boiling induced significant biochemical transformations in the meat, ultimately shaping the characteristic flavor profiles of both the cooked meat and the resulting broth. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that amino acid metabolism, nucleotide catabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and carbohydrate catabolism were the primary metabolic pathways underlying breed-related flavor differences and flavor evolution during cooking. This study demonstrates that untargeted metabolomics is an effective tool for elucidating the molecular basis of meat flavor formation and transformation, offering valuable insights for future research on poultry flavor profiling and the impact of thermal processing on meat quality.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107223"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13292564/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148264989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of dietary exemestane administration on reproductive performance, hepatic function, and lipid metabolism in Japanese quail.","authors":"Mohammad Amin Hadavi, Abouzar Najafi, Seyed Davood Sharifi, Shokoufe Ghazanfari, Hasan Rouhanipour, Esmaeil Pourhosseini","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107280","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107280","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Estrogen is a central regulator of avian reproduction and metabolism, with key functions in vitellogenesis and hepatic lipid mobilization. This study evaluated the physiological effects of dietary exemestane administration, using a compound pharmacologically classified as an irreversible steroidal aromatase inhibitor, on reproductive performance, serum lipid indices, hepatic enzyme activity, egg quality, yolk lipid peroxidation, and yolk fatty acid composition in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). A total of 192 28-day-old female quail were acclimated for 14 days on a basal diet and subsequently fed experimental diets containing 0 (control), 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 mg/kg exemestane from 43 days of age for 56 days. Reproductive performance traits were recorded throughout the trial, whereas serum biochemical variables, hepatic enzyme activities, egg-quality traits, and yolk oxidative and fatty acid indices were evaluated at the end of the experimental period. Dietary exemestane did not significantly affect overall egg production or egg weight. However, birds receiving 1.5 mg/kg exemestane exhibited reduced eggshell percentage, altered serum HDL cholesterol, increased aspartate aminotransferase activity, and markedly higher yolk lipid peroxidation, suggesting dose-related metabolic and oxidative responses at the highest inclusion level. Exemestane administration also produced selective alterations in yolk fatty acid composition, including changes in monounsaturated and n-3 fatty acid fractions. Overall, these findings indicate that dietary exemestane administration is associated with dose-dependent changes in metabolic and egg-quality traits without marked impairment of reproductive output. Because circulating sex steroids, gonadotropins, tissue expression of cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily A member 1 (CYP19A1), and aromatase activity were not directly measured, these results should be interpreted as physiological responses compatible with estrogen-sensitive pathway modulation rather than as direct empirical confirmation of aromatase inhibition.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107280"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13312130/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148278455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In ovo dexamethasone elicits an increase in ACTH-stimulated glucocorticoid release but no effects on fear behaviors in Pekin ducks.","authors":"N K Wilson, J M Schober, E M Oluwagbenga, I C von Seggern, G S Fraley","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107052","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107052","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Heat stress is among the leading causes of stress to poultry during their productive life, leading to the loss of profit at each stage of production. This event can have profound impacts on a duck's physiology, leading to changes in their behavior and an increased response to future stressors. We have previously shown that breeder ducks exposed to heat stress deposit increased quantities of glucocorticoids in their eggs, and that is correlational to altered phenotype of the offspring. We sought to replicate those findings by increased glucocorticoid content in ovo without a parental heat stress (HS) event. Eggs were injected with either dexamethasone (Dex; = 100/treatment (1ug/ul]) or saline (Con = 100/treatment (0.1 mg/egg)), sealed with silicon glue and set to incubate and hatch following industry standards. Ducklings were separated into their respective groups (n = 50/treatment/pen). At 3 weeks of age, ducks were then given an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH; 0.0625 mg/kg cosyntropin in 1.0 ml saline) challenge (n = 6/treatment) or control (1.0 ml saline per bird). Blood was collected at 0,1,2, and 4 h after injection. An isolation fear test was performed on the ducks at week 3.5 and novel environment test on weeks 1 and 5. Heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (HLR), ELISA for glucocorticoids, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and weekly body weights were all calculated and recorded. No significant differences were observed in FCR, body weights, or isolation fear test metrics such as latency to first vocalization. There were significant differences in circulating corticosterone in the Con-ACTH and Dex-ACTH groups each time point. The Con-ACTH had a significant (p < 0.05) increase after hour 1, and the Dex-ACTH groups showed a further significant (p < 0.05) increase above all other groups. Similar results were obtained with cortisol and HLR. The novel environment test showed only an age effect between weeks 1 and 5. Our results show that the in ovo glucocorticoids impact physiological, but not necessarily behavioral responses.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107052"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13312181/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148283821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Starch digestion rate as a key predictor of feed efficiency in broilers fed diets with varying ratios of sorghum and broken rice.","authors":"Xiaomeng Ye, Feng Zhao, Changlin Guo, Xingyu Zhou, Yuming Wang, Jingjing Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107216","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107216","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study evaluated whether starch digestion rate (SDR) acts as an independent predictor of feed conversion ratio (FCR), comparable to conventional nutritional indices of apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and metabolizable crude protein (MCP). A total of 216 twenty-two-day-old Arbor Acres male broilers were allotted to 6 dietary treatments with sorghum-to-broken rice ratios of 0:100 (BR100), 20:80 (S20BR80), 40:60 (S40BR60), 60:40 (S60BR40), 80:20 (S80BR20), and 100:0 (S100) and fed the corresponding diets from d 22 to 30. All diets were formulated to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Increasing dietary inclusion of sorghum prolonged total small intestinal mean retention time (P < 0.001). Starch digestibility in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum decreased with increasing dietary sorghum proportion (P < 0.001), whereas starch disappearance rate in broilers fed the S100 diet was lower than that in the other dietary treatments in the jejunum and ileum (P < 0.05). Starch digestion kinetic analysis revealed significant differences in SDR across dietary treatments (Kruskal‑Wallis test, P = 0.011). The SDR values of the six diet treatments ranged from 0.179 to 0.568 min^-1, whereas potential starch digestibility declined with increasing dietary sorghum inclusion (P < 0.001). Average daily feed intake (ADFI) and FCR were not affected by dietary treatment; however, average daily gain (ADG) was greater in broilers fed the BR100 and S20BR80 diets than in those fed the S60BR40 and S100 diets (P < 0.05). AME did not differ among treatments, whereas CP retention was greater in broilers fed the BR100 diet than in those fed the S80BR20 and S100 diets (P < 0.05). Feed efficiency indices were strongly correlated with SDR, and multiple regression analysis identified SDR as the primary predictor of FCR, accounting for the largest proportion of explained variance. In conclusion, dietary sorghum-to-broken rice ratio modulated starch digestion kinetics and feed efficiency in broilers, with SDR identified as a key determinant of feed efficiency. These findings emphasize the importance of considering starch digestion dynamics, rather than nutrient concentrations alone, in broiler diet formulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107216"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13292753/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148265864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Best practices framework for using 16S rRNA gene sequencing in poultry microbiota research.","authors":"Joshua M Lyte, Mitiku M Seyoum, Diana Ayala, Jannigje G Kers, Valentina Caputi, Timothy Johnson, Li Zhang, Joshua Rehberger, Guolong Zhang, Sami Dridi, Brett Hale, Jean E De Oliveira, Daniel Grum, Alexandra H Smith, Kelsy Robinson, Michael Kogut, Elena G Olson, Steven C Ricke, Anne Ballou, Bill Potter, Monika Proszkowiec-Weglarz","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107275","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107275","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbiome research has shown significant potential in enhancing poultry health and productivity. Despite the increasing volume of data linking the microbiota with various host traits, challenges persist regarding the consistency and reproducibility of findings. A major underlying issue is the variability in methodologies employed across studies. As such, a need exists to establish a set of standardized guidelines that help guide experimental design, DNA extraction, sequencing, data analysis, and reporting in poultry microbiota research. Rather than advocating for a single standardized protocol, we propose a best practices framework designed to enhance methodological rigor while accommodating distinct research contexts. Such a framework emphasizes the use of appropriate positive and negative controls and improved data reporting to facilitate cross-study comparisons and reproducibility. As a companion to our previous review of the 16S rRNA gene sequencing landscape in poultry microbiota research, this manuscript represents a collaborative effort among experts from academia, industry, and government. It aims to offer a practical set of guidelines that serve as a checklist for designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting poultry microbiota studies. These guidelines seek to improve consistency, reproducibility, and robustness of poultry microbiota research.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107275"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13292759/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148272231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-destructive detection of internal egg defects: Transmission imaging for blood spots and Vis-NIR spectroscopy for runny yolk.","authors":"Abdullah Al-Mamun, Md Abdullah Al Noman, Iqbal Hossain, Jannatul Ferdushi Jany, Md Anisur Rahman Mazumder, Abdullah Iqbal, Mohammad Gulzarul Aziz, Afzal Rahman","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107220","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107220","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ensuring the internal quality of eggs is essential for food safety and industrial-scale grading. While current systems can detect blood spots, non-destructive identification of runny yolk remains a major challenge. This study evaluates a parallel, non-destructive approach utilizing transmission imaging specifically for blood spot identification, alongside visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy for the detection of both blood spots and runny yolk. In the imaging system, blood spots were detected based on pixel area thresholds, achieving up to 92.00% accuracy in white eggs and 88.00% in brown eggs. Using supervised classification, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) yielded the best performance among image-based methods. However, Vis-NIR spectroscopy outperformed imaging, with Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) achieving 97.50% and 98.37% accuracy for blood spot detection in white and brown eggs, respectively. Notably, this study reports the first successful non-invasive detection of runny yolk, reaching 99.01% accuracy in white eggs and 100.00% in brown eggs using LDA. This was enabled by identifying distinct lipid absorption features in the 500- 600 nm range. Although induced defects were used for validation, the results demonstrate the feasibility of a robust, scalable framework for intelligent egg quality assessment, advancing automation in the poultry industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107220"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13311827/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148272640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chicken-derived Lactobacillus strains alleviate Mycoplasma gallisepticum infection and improve growth performance in broilers.","authors":"Qiao Guo, Zhenghao Che, Fuli Hu, Jiahui Wu, Shan Lv, Wenqing Zhao, Shiying Li, Yingjie Wang, Xiuli Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107207","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107207","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Restrictions on antibiotic use in poultry production have increased interest in probiotic alternatives for controlling infectious diseases. This study isolated chicken-derived Lactobacillus strains and evaluated their probiotic properties and protective effects against Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) infection in broilers. A total of 81 isolates were recovered from different intestinal segments of healthy chickens and assigned to four genera and six species. After screening for acid tolerance and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, four representative strains were selected for further study: Lactobacillus crispatus Z2, L. crispatus Z18, Ligilactobacillus agilis Z22, and Ligilactobacillus salivarius M12. In vitro, cell-free supernatants (CFS) from these strains reduced MG colony formation and significantly decreased MG adhesion to chicken alveolar epithelial type II cells (P < 0.05). At non-cytotoxic concentrations, CFS treatment also reduced mgc2 copy number and gapA expression in MG-infected cells (P < 0.05). The selected strains further showed favorable probiotic characteristics, including rapid growth, acidification capacity, and adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells. For in vivo evaluation, broilers were experimentally challenged with MG and assigned to different probiotic intervention groups, with tiamulin used as an antimicrobial control. Probiotic administration alleviated MG-associated growth impairment in broilers. Strains Z2 and Z22 significantly increased final body weight, whereas Z2, Z22, and M12 improved body weight gain during the late growth phase (P < 0.05). All four strains reduced feed conversion ratio during early growth, and Z22 also improved overall feed efficiency (P < 0.05). Histopathological analysis showed that probiotic treatment reduced inflammatory infiltration in the lung and preserved cecal epithelial integrity. TUNEL staining further demonstrated reduced pulmonary apoptosis after probiotic intervention (P < 0.05). Consistent with these effects, probiotic treatment decreased pulmonary MG burden, as reflected by lower mgc2 copy number, and downregulated the adhesion-related gene gapA in lung tissue (P < 0.05). These results support chicken-derived Lactobacillus strains as candidate antibiotic alternatives for controlling MG infection and improving broiler performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107207"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13311834/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148278463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Random forest modeling to identify key farm-to-fork factors influencing Campylobacter ecology in pastured poultry systems.","authors":"Minho Kim, Walid G Al Hakeem, Michael J Rothrock","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107274","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107274","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Campylobacter in poultry flocks poses significant food safety challenges, yet the drivers of its prevalence and load across the farm-to-fork continuum are not well understood. This study applied two-part random forest models to identify key factors influencing Campylobacter prevalence and load in pastured poultry systems. Data were collected from 11 farms in the southeastern United States between 2014 and 2017. The study included 1,942 broiler samples across five types: pasture soil, feces, ceca, whole carcass rinse after processing (WCR-P), and after storage (WCR-F). Two predictor sets were evaluated by 5-fold stratified cross-validation: farming practices with soil physicochemical properties and meteorological variables. Partial dependence plots were used to assess directional trends for key predictors. Models showed strong overall classification and regression performance across most sample types. Subsequent analyses focused on feces, ceca, and WCR-F to focus on the broiler specific farm-to-fork continuum. Classification models consistently identified farm as the dominant predictor of Campylobacter prevalence. This suggests the cumulative effect of site-specific management and processing practices unique to each farm. Flock age was the second most important predictor for fecal samples. Prevalence increased as birds matured. Day of year was another leading predictor for cecal and WCR-F samples, predicting the highest prevalence during summer. Regression models identified flock age as the top predictor of Campylobacter load in feces and the second most important predictor in ceca. Campylobacter load declined with bird age in feces whereas cecal loads continued to accumulate as an internal reservoir. Meteorological models showed that sustained high wind speed reduced fecal Campylobacter prevalence. Lower rolling-average humidity and higher rainfall on the sampling day were each associated with lower fecal loads. These findings indicate that Campylobacter prevalence and load are affected by distinct drivers at each production stage. Targeted interventions such as optimizing flock management schedules and implementing farm-specific biosecurity measures could improve Campylobacter control throughout the pastured poultry production continuum.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107274"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13292788/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148265725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inulin enhances systemic health and egg quality by regulating gut microbiota and metabolomic profiles in laying hens.","authors":"Yipeng Li, Jiamei Cui, Yuemeng Shang, Vasileios Paraskevas, Yunkyoung Lee, Guiguo Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psj.2026.107265","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigated the effects of dietary inulin supplementation on systemic health and egg quality in laying hens through changes in the gut microbiota and metabolome. A total of 288 healthy 15-week-old laying hens were randomly assigned to a basal diet (CON) or the same diet supplemented with 1.5 g/kg inulin (INU). At the peak laying age of 35 weeks, egg yolk fatty acid composition was determined, cecal microbial composition was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and cecal metabolites were assessed using untargeted metabolomics. Compared with the CON group, the INU group showed significantly improved laying performance, systemic health-related indicators, egg quality, serum and yolk antioxidant capacity, and yolk fatty acid composition (P < 0.05), along with a significantly lower yolk malondialdehyde concentration (P < 0.05). In addition, compared with the CON group, the INU group had a higher relative abundance of potentially beneficial microbiota, particularly Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium, and higher concentrations of acetic acid, butyric acid, and isobutyric acid (P < 0.01). Cecal metabolomic analysis further showed that, compared with the CON group, the INU group had significantly altered metabolic pathways mainly related to histidine metabolism, biotin metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism. These results indicate that dietary inulin supplementation improved laying performance, systemic health, yolk antioxidant capacity, and egg quality in laying hens, and these beneficial effects were associated with cecal microbiota shifts, increased microbial fermentation products, altered metabolic pathways, and improved antioxidant status.</p>","PeriodicalId":20459,"journal":{"name":"Poultry Science","volume":"105 9","pages":"107265"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13312155/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148278515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}