Animal Nutrition最新文献

{"title":"Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larva meal as a sustainable protein enhances growth, health and flesh quality of Scylla paramamosain","authors":"Tiantian Xu, Yuhang Yang, Xiaoyi Zhao, Shichao Xie, Yinqiu Tian, Tingting Zhu, Min Jin, Qicun Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.11.016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.11.016","url":null,"abstract":"The optimal level of fish meal (FM) replacement with black soldier fly (<ce:italic>Hermetia illucens</ce:italic>) larva meal (BSFM) in mud crab (<ce:italic>Scylla paramamosain</ce:italic>), particularly in terms of health, texture, and flavor quality, remains unclear. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of substituting FM with BSFM on the growth performance, health, and flesh quality of mud crabs. Six isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets were formulated replacing FM with BSFM at 0, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 60%. A total of 192 crabs with an initial weight of 22.46 ± 0.04g were randomly assigned to four replicates per treatment, with eight crabs per replicate, and cultured for 8 weeks. The findings indicated that BSFM as a FM substitute posed no risk of heavy metal or pesticide contamination. Substituting up to 30% of FM with BSFM did not adversely affect the growth or nutritional value of mud crabs compared to the substitution of FM with 0% BSFM (BSFM0) group (<ce:italic>P &gt;</ce:italic> 0.05). Notably, moderate inclusion of BSFM increased the fatty acid content in the hepatopancreas, enhanced the hardness, springiness, chewiness, and gumminess, and increased the collagen content in the muscles of mud crabs compared to the BSFM0 group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). However, a BSFM replacement level of over 40% reduced the length and width of intestinal folds, decreased the thickness of intestinal muscularis, and caused detachment of intestinal villi, causing intestinal damage in mud crabs compared to the BSFM0 group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). High levels of BSFM substitution led to a reduction in amino acids, free amino acids (umami free amino acids), flavor-related nucleotides (adenosine monophosphate and hypoxanthine), and sensory scores (umami, sweetness, and saltiness values), causing a reduction in the nutritional quality and flavor of the crab flesh compared to the BSFM0 group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Overall, this study suggests that replacing 30% of FM with BSFM can promote growth, and improves health and flesh quality in mud crabs.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thiamine modulates the mammary inflammation, antioxidant function and lactation performance in lactating sheep under heat-stress conditions","authors":"Huisi Wu, Tingting Ni, Feng You, Yuming Huang, Feiyang He, Gao Liu, Jianing Wang, Mengzhi Wang, Hao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.007","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effect of dietary thiamine supplementation on mammary inflammation, antioxidant function and lactation performance of heat-stressed Hu ewes. Twenty-four lactating Hu ewes (parity 1–2; days in milk = 14 ± 1 d; milk yield = 1.25 ± 0.08 L/d) with body weight of 52.6 ± 2.7 kg and body condition score of 2.62 ± 0.12 (0 = emaciation, 5 = obesity) were selected. After a 7-d acclimation period, the ewes were randomly allocated into three treatments and raised for 21 d under different ambient temperatures: thermoneutral group without supplementation (CON), heat stress group without supplementation (HS), and heat stress group with dietary thiamine supplementation at 100 mg/kg dry matter intake (DMI) (THS). Each group consists of 8 repetitions, and each repetition involves 1 ewe. THS group significantly increased milk yield, milk fat, lactose and protein levels, except for DMI, compared with HS group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). The THS group significantly decreased DMI, milk yield, milk fat, lactose and protein levels compared with CON group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Milk fatty acid (FA) production of preformed FA, C18:0, C18:1n9c, C18:2n6c, C18:3 and C20:3 of THS group significantly decreased compared with HS group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Milk FA production of preformed FA, C18:0, C18:1n9c, C18:2n6c and C20:3 of THS group significantly increased compared with CON group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Arginine, leucine, valine, alanine, and aspartate productions in milk of THS group were significantly higher than those in HS group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Relative to the HS group, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and triglyceride content were significantly higher in the THS group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05), while malondialdehyde (MDA) and TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β levels significantly declined in the THS group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05) in mammary vein blood and mammary tissue. Relative to the HS group, the protein abundances of lactose synthesis related proteins (GLUT1, GLUT3, and LALBA), milk fat synthesis related proteins (FASN, SCD, and PPARγ) and milk protein synthesis related proteins (CAT1, EAAT3, and ASCT2) were significantly higher in the mammary tissue in the THS group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Relative to the CON group, the protein abundances of lactose synthesis related proteins (GLUT1, GLUT3, and LALBA), milk fat synthesis related proteins (FASN, SCD, and PPARγ) and milk protein synthesis related proteins (CAT1, EAAT3, and ASCT2) were significantly lower in the mammary tissue in the THS group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). These results suggest that thiamine supplementation could mitigate mammary inflammation, improve mammary antioxidant function and lactation performance.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dietary arginine modulates growth performance and testicular development across life stages in male swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus)","authors":"Xiaoyue Li, Tiantian Xu, Yao Deng, Wenhao Zhan, Shichao Xie, Xishuai Cui, Yushan Zou, Tingting Zhu, Min Jin, Qicun Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.01.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.01.014","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluated the effects of dietary arginine (Arg) on growth performance, testicular development, and apoptosis in juvenile and adult male swimming crabs (&lt;ce:italic&gt;Portunus trituberculatus&lt;/ce:italic&gt;). Six isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets were formulated with graded Arg levels of 1.89% (control), 2.27%, 2.65%, 3.05%, 3.43%, and 3.80%, respectively. A total of 180 juvenile male crabs (initial weight: 4.35 ± 0.02 g) were randomly assigned to six treatments (three replicates of 10 crabs each) and cultured for 20 weeks. Four crabs per replicate were sampled at week 13 (juvenile stage), and the remaining six crabs per replicate were sampled at week 20 (adult stage). At the juvenile stage, compared with the control, those fed the 2.27% Arg diet exhibited significantly higher final body weight (FBW), percent weight gain (PWG), specific growth rate (SGR), and feed efficiency (FE) (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05). Conversely, the lowest growth performance was observed in the 3.80% Arg group, whereas feed intake (FI) showed an inverse trend (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.001). In the hemolymph, crabs fed the 2.27% Arg diet exhibited the highest activities of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (e-NOS), superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), catalase (CAT), as well as the highest total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and glutathione (GSH) content, which were significantly higher than those in the control (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05). In the hepatopancreas, the relative expression of immune-related genes (&lt;ce:italic&gt;mnsod&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, &lt;ce:italic&gt;gsh-px&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, &lt;ce:italic&gt;relish&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, and &lt;ce:italic&gt;po&lt;/ce:italic&gt;) were upregulated in the 2.27% Arg group compared with control (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05). And the relative expression of genes involved in lipid synthesis (&lt;ce:italic&gt;fas&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, &lt;ce:italic&gt;dgat&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, &lt;ce:italic&gt;acc&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, and &lt;ce:italic&gt;fad&lt;/ce:italic&gt;) and lipid catabolism (&lt;ce:italic&gt;cpt-1&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, &lt;ce:italic&gt;fatp&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, and &lt;ce:italic&gt;fabp&lt;/ce:italic&gt;) were significantly elevated (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05), and B-cell diameter was significantly reduced in 2.27% Arg group compared with the control (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.001). At the adult stage, crabs fed 2.27% and 2.65% Arg diets showed higher gonadosomatic index, testis index and vas deferens index than other groups (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05). In the hemolymph, the activities of adenylate kinase (AK) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (n-NOS), as well as nitric oxide (NO) content, were significantly increased in the 2.65% Arg group (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05), while hemolymph ammonia content was significantly decreased compared with the control (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; = 0.007). Compared with the control, testicular relative expression of genes involved in Arg metabolism (&lt;ce:italic&gt;odc1&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, creatinase, &lt;ce:italic&gt;nadh6&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, &lt;ce:italic&gt;sms&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, and &lt;ce:italic&gt;nnos&lt;/","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A high amylose to amylopectin ratio in a low-protein diet promoted growth performance and protein deposition of breast muscle in geese","authors":"Xucheng Zheng, Zhi Yang, Xiyuan Xing, Xuan Li, Wenfeng Liu, Usman Nazir, Haiming Yang, Zhiyue Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.005","url":null,"abstract":"This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different dietary protein levels and amylose to amylopectin (AM/AP) ratios on the growth performance and muscle development of geese. A total of 240 healthy male Jiangnan White geese (body weight [BW] 2124.8 ± 91.4 g, 35-d-old) were randomly assigned to 4 groups, with 6 replicates per group and 10 birds per replicate. The 2 × 2 factorial design included two protein levels (16% and 14%) and two AM/AP ratios (0.34 and 0.44). The 4 groups were: control group, normal protein (16%) with normal AM/AP ratio (0.34) (NPNR); normal protein (16%) with high AM/AP ratio (0.44) (NPHR); low protein (14%) with normal AM/AP ratio (0.34) (LPNR); and low protein (14%) with high AM/AP ratio (0.44) (LPHR). The results showed that compared with normal protein diet, low protein diet increased average daily feed intake (ADFI; <ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.008). Increasing the AM/AP ratio increased BW of geese at 56 d (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.003), improved average daily weight gain (ADG; <ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.003) and decreased feed-to-gain ratio (F/G; <ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.009). Increasing the AM/AP ratio led to an increase in crude protein content in the breast muscle (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.015), also enriched the amino acids composition in the liver and muscles, specifically elevated the Lys content in the liver (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.004) and leg muscle (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.031), and Glu, Leu, Lys, and Pro content in breast muscles (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Both a low protein diet and a high AM/AP ratio increased short-term breast muscle protein deposition. High AM/AP ratio diets accelerated the protein fractional synthesis rate (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.036) and fractional growth rate (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.002) in breast muscles. Antagonistic interactions between AMPK and mTOR pathways were observed. Compared with the control group, the LPHR group showed down-regulation of <ce:italic>AMPKα1</ce:italic> mRNA (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.020) and up-regulation of <ce:italic>mTOR</ce:italic> mRNA in the breast muscle (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.047). High AM/AP ratio in the diets induced hypertrophy and thickening of leg muscle fibers. In conclusion, increasing the AM/AP ratio in a low-protein diet promoted protein deposition in breast muscles and benefited geese growth.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dietary taurine-mediated alleviation of post-hatch transport stress in broilers: Improvements in growth, antioxidant status, and intestinal barrier integrity linked to gut microbiota modulation","authors":"Shuhan Pan, Wenling Huang, Yang Dai, Zhitong Fan, Yucheng Yin, Yizheng Hong, Huihua Zhang, Cui Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.006","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effects of dietary taurine (Tau) supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, intestinal barrier function, and gut microbiota in yellow-feathered broilers exposed to post-hatch transport stress (TS). A total of 180 1-d-old chicks (initial body weight 35.93 ± 0.26 g) were randomly divided into five treatments, with six replicates each group and six birds each replicate, including control, TS, TS + 0.25% Tau, TS + 0.50% Tau, and TS + 0.75% Tau. The experiment lasted for two weeks. Compared with the control, post-hatch TS reduced final body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), plasma catalase (CAT) activity, and villus height (VH) in duodenum and ileum at d 7, while increasing plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, cortisol level at d 7 and jejunal relative mRNA expression levels of <ce:italic>HSP40</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>HSP70</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>HSP90</ce:italic> (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Compared with the TS group, dietary Tau supplementation significantly increased final BW, ADG, plasma glucose level at d 14, CAT activity, duodenal VH at d 7, but decreased plasma AST activity and duodenal crypt depth at d 14 (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Meanwhile, compared with the TS group, the relative mRNA expression levels of <ce:italic>TJP1</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>TJP2</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>LC3Ⅰ</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>LC3Ⅱ</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>PRKN</ce:italic> in the jejunum were upregulated, and the jejunal relative mRNA expression levels of <ce:italic>HSP40</ce:italic> were downregulated by TS + 0.50% Tau (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Compared with the TS group, the gut microbiome analysis revealed that TS + 0.50% Tau significantly improved the cecal microbial Shannon and Simpson indexes (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Compared with TS group, dietary Tau supplementation increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes at d 7, <ce:italic>Defluviitaleaceae_UCG-011</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>Shuttleworthia</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>Subdoligranulum</ce:italic>at at d 14, and decreased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria at d 7 and 14 (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the ADG during d 1-14 and plasma CAT activity positively correlated with the relative abundance of <ce:italic>Shuttleworthia</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>Defluviitaleaceae_UCG-011</ce:italic>, while plasma CAT activity and <ce:italic>LC3Ⅰ</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>LC3Ⅱ</ce:italic> relative mRNA expression negatively correlated with the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and <ce:italic>Escherichia-Shigella</ce:italic> (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Collectively, dietary Tau supplementation improved growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal barrier integrity in yellow-feathered broilers subjected to post-hatch TS, which might be linked to the alterations of gut microbiota.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"124 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288389","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimal SID Lysine levels in low-protein diets: Effects on performance of lactating sows and their offspring","authors":"Mengmeng Han, Yu Gong, Xiao Lian, Mengliao Wan, Zekun Yang, Yonglang Wang, Qiuping Guo, Yehui Duan, Hongyu Chen, Fengna Li","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.11.015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.11.015","url":null,"abstract":"The potential changes in limiting amino acid (AA) requirements for lactating sows fed low-protein (LP) diets and the underlying physiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study evaluated the productive and physiological responses of lactating sows to LP diets, focusing on the optimal standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys supply. A total of 84 Landrace × Large White sows with similar parity (4.06 ± 0.16), expected farrowing dates and body weight (BW; 260.65 ± 1.25 kg) were randomly assigned to 6 groups with 14 replicates in each group and 1 sow per replicate. The control diet (CON) contained 18% crude protein (CP) and 0.78% SID Lys. Five LP diets contained 15% CP and similar net energy (NE) levels, with SID Lys levels of 0.66%, 0.72%, 0.78%, 0.84%, and 0.90%, respectively, achieved by adjusting the corn-to-soybean meal ratio and crystalline amino acids (CAAs) supplementation. The trial lasted for 28 d (from d 107 of gestation to d 21 postpartum). Compared with CON, 0.78% SID Lys-LP diet increased milk immunoglobulin M content (<ce:italic>t</ce:italic>-test, <ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05), improved apparent CP digestibility, and reduced serum urea nitrogen (SUN) at d 14 and 21 of lactation, and also reduced milk urea nitrogen concentrations (<ce:italic>t</ce:italic>-test, <ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). However, dietary CP reduction significantly decreased serum IGF-1 levels and the digestibility of dietary crude fiber (<ce:italic>t</ce:italic>-test, <ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). When the dietary SID Lys level in LP diets was further decreased to 0.66%, both sow and piglet production performance significantly declined (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). However, increasing SID Lys to 0.84% in LP diets improved piglet performance, and the overall performance of both sows and piglets was not significantly different from that of CON, with the 0.84% SID Lys-LP group demonstrating better apparent utilization of dietary nitrogen and AA compared to all other groups (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &gt; 0.05). A nonlinear fitting of sensitive indicators with linear and quadratic effects was conducted to estimate optimal SID Lys requirements for lactating sow. Breakpoints for 14 d SUN, maximizing piglet benefits (weaning litter weight, individual weight), and sow BW loss were 0.80%, 0.81%, and 0.85% using the broken-line linear model, and 0.86%, 0.90%, and 0.90% using the broken-line quadratic model. In conclusion, the LP diet containing 0.78% SID Lys did not adversely affect sow performance but affected piglet growth performance. Reducing dietary SID Lys in LP diets impaired the growth and development of 21 d suckling piglets, whereas increasing SID Lys and supplementing CAAs (Met, Thr, Trp, and Val) restored performance and mitigates adverse effects. The broken-line linear and quadratic models suggest the optimal range of SID Lys in LP diets for sows is between 0.80% and 0.90%.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148289951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fermented corn germ meal modulates intestinal inflammation and influences gut microbial succession in broiler chickens","authors":"Xiaoyu Ji, Beibei He, Li Wang, Kuanbo Liu, Jingjing Shi, Junlin Cheng, Dan Song, Hang Ma, Aike Li, Lin Qiao, Tao Duan, Yongwei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.01.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.01.013","url":null,"abstract":"This study explored the effects of fermented corn germ meal (FCGM) on growth performance, inflammatory response, and intestinal microbiota in broiler chickens. A total of 180 one-day-old AA broilers (initial average body weight of 39.16 ± 0.05 g) were randomly divided into three groups: CON group, basal diet; CGM group, basal diet supplemented with 7% corn germ meal (CGM); FCGM group, basal diet supplemented with 7% FCGM. Each group contained 6 replicates with 10 broilers per replicate. The experimental period lasted for 42 d. Compared with unfermented CGM, fermentation significantly increased the contents of crude protein (CP), lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA), and propionic acid (PA) (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05), while reducing crude fiber (CF) content (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.036). FCGM had no significant impact on growth performance of broiler chickens (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &gt; 0.05), but significantly increased cecal AA content at 21 and 42 d (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Additionally, FCGM modulated the expression of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway in cecal tissue, with downregulated relative mRNA expression of <ce:italic>ERK</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>p38</ce:italic> at d 42, and altered inflammatory status via upregulation of the anti-inflammatory cytokine <ce:italic>IL-10</ce:italic> relative mRNA expression at d 21 (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Additionally, FCGM stabilized ileal and cecal microbiota succession. Among these, Firmicutes and <ce:italic>Lactobacillus</ce:italic> are the dominant bacterial groups, and their abundance showed significant changes over time. Ileal microbiota assembly was dominated by stochastic processes, while cecal microbiota was influenced by both deterministic and stochastic processes. These findings indicate FCGM improves broiler gut health via a metabolite-receptor-microbiota, offering a viable nutritional strategy for antibiotic-free poultry production.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dietary riboflavin blocks the cGAS-STING pathway to curb hypoxia-induced hepatic inflammation in sub-adult grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)","authors":"Lin Zhong, Lin Feng, Pei Wu, Weidan Jiang, Hongyun Zhang, Yaobin Ma, Yang Liu, Haifeng Mi, Fali Wu, Lu Zhang, Xiaoqiu Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.01.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.01.012","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluated the effect of riboflavin (VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt;) on growth performance and its ability to alleviate hypoxia-induced hepatic inflammation in sub-adult grass carp (&lt;ce:italic&gt;Ctenopharyngodon idella&lt;/ce:italic&gt;), as well as the underlying mechanisms. A total of 450 grass carp (402.16 ± 1.01 g) were randomly distributed into 18 tanks and fed one of six experimental diets with varying VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; concentrations (0.47, 1.96, 3.45, 4.97, 6.47, and 7.98 mg/kg) for 60 d, followed by a 96 h hypoxia stress experiment. The experimental results showed that, compared with VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; deficiency (0.47 mg/kg VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt;) group, the 1.96 to 7.98 mg/kg VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; groups enhanced the percent weight gain, specific growth rate, and feed efficiency, and exerted a growth-promoting effect on grass carp (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.001). In the hypoxia group, the supplementation of VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; (3.45 to 6.47 mg/kg) increased hepatic VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; content, D-amino acid oxidase, and glutathione reductase activities (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.001), thereby enhancing the function of the flavoprotein. Furthermore, the 3.45 to 6.47 mg/kg VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; groups reduced the activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05), thereby mitigating hepatic damage induced by hypoxia. The 3.45 to 4.97 mg/kg VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; groups increased hepatic ATP content (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.001) and cytoplasmic mitochondrial DNA copy number under hypoxia stress. Compared with the VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; deficiency group, the 4.97 mg/kg VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; group promoted the fluorescence intensity of VDAC1, TOMM20, and OPA1 under hypoxia stress (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.001), thereby improving mitochondrial structure and function. Riboflavin also mitigated hypoxia-induced hepatic inflammation. Dietary 3.45 to 7.98 mg/kg VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory factors such as interleukins (&lt;ce:italic&gt;il-1β&lt;/ce:italic&gt;), tumor necrosis factors (&lt;ce:italic&gt;tnf-α&lt;/ce:italic&gt;) and interferons (&lt;ce:italic&gt;ifn-1&lt;/ce:italic&gt;), while 3.45 to 6.47 mg/kg VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; groups increased the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine such as &lt;ce:italic&gt;il-4&lt;/ce:italic&gt;, &lt;ce:italic&gt;il-10&lt;/ce:italic&gt; and transforming growth factors (&lt;ce:italic&gt;tgf-β&lt;/ce:italic&gt;) (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05). Dietary 4.97 mg/kg VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; reduced the expression of phospho-stimulator of p-STING, p-TBK1, p-IRF3, and p-P65 (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05). Finally, using percent weight gain, D-AAO, and ALT for secondary regression analysis, VB&lt;ce:inf loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:inf&gt; requirements for sub-adult grass carp were dete","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Blocking TNFR1 internalization and cell death represents a critical mechanism for alleviating enteritis in adult grass carp: The potential role of dietary myo-inositol in enhancing intestinal health","authors":"Meiqi Wang, Lin Feng, Pei Wu, Yang Liu, Hongmei Ren, Xiaowan Jin, Xiaoqiu Zhou, Weidan Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.020","url":null,"abstract":"In high-density intensive aquaculture systems, enteritis has emerged as a critical health concern. In bony fish, the intestine serves as the core organ of the digestive system and plays an important part in maintaining physiological homeostasis. Disruption of intestinal barrier integrity can lead to metabolic disturbances, inflammatory responses, and progressive impairment of intestinal barrier function. <ce:italic>Myo</ce:italic>-inositol (MI), a vitamin-like nutrient, exerts notable beneficial effects on the structural integrity of physical barriers and non-specific immunity in various aquatic species. A total of 450 adult grass carp (<ce:italic>Ctenopharyngodon idella</ce:italic>) (704.84 ± 0.91 g) were randomly divided into 6 treatments (3 replicates per treatment) to receive six levels of dietary MI (35 [basal diet, deficient group], 98, 195, 292, 389, and 487 mg/kg). Following an 8-week feeding period, intestinal inflammation was induced using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Compared with the MI supplement group, the results demonstrated that MI deficiency suppressed intestinal development in adult grass carp, aggravated intestinal structural damage in DSS-induced enteritis, and reduced the number of intestinal goblet cells (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.001). Moreover, MI deficiency increased the incidence of DSS-induced enteritis (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.001). Mechanistically, MI deficiency caused sustained NF-κB p65 activation by disrupting early endosome formation and impairing TNFR1 internalization (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.015). This cascade ultimately triggered cell apoptosis and exacerbated intestinal inflammation. Collectively, these findings revealed how MI contributes to the maintenance of intestinal barrier function and enhanced understanding of its role in regulating intestinal health in grass carp.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using intelligent behavioral monitoring to assess the impact of dietary energy and protein on growth, digestion, metabolism, and behavior of young female yaks","authors":"Duoting Wu, Lushun Huo, Jiajun Wang, Zhisheng Wang, Rui Hu, Liyuan Shi, Yingqi Peng, Huawei Zou, Fali Wu, Yahui Jiang, Quanhui Peng, Jianxin Xiao, Yiping Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.004","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effects of graded dietary energy and protein levels on growth, nutrient utilization, and behavior in housed young female yaks, integrating automated behavior monitoring via a YOLO-based computer vision system. Twenty-four 17-month-old Maiwa yaks (160.43 ± 14.54 kg) were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments (<ce:italic>n</ce:italic> = 8 per treatment): low energy and protein (LELP: net energy for gain (NEg) = 3.3 MJ/kg, crude protein (CP) = 10.50%, medium energy and protein (MEMP: NEg = 3.9 MJ/kg, CP = 12.51%), and high energy and protein (HEHP: NEg = 4.5 MJ/kg, CP = 14.50%). A 120-d feeding trial was conducted, followed by a 4-d digestion and metabolism trial. Growth performance was enhanced in the MEMP group relative to the LELP group, as indicated by significantly greater average daily gain (ADG) and a reduced feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Nutrient metabolism was enhanced at higher dietary levels, as indicated by elevated serum urea nitrogen (BUN) and ruminal ammonia nitrogen (NH<ce:inf loc=\"post\">3</ce:inf>-N) contents in the MEMP and HEHP groups (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Automated behavioral analysis revealed that the MEMP group spent less time standing and more time lying than the HEHP group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05), suggesting improved welfare and rumination opportunity. Furthermore, the moderate diet (MEMP) optimized the utilization and deposition rates of both energy and nitrogen. In conclusion, a moderate energy and protein diet (NEg = 3.9 MJ/kg, CP = 12.51%) optimally supports the growth and metabolism of young female yaks under housed conditions. This study provides a scientific basis for the precise nutritional management and intelligent monitoring of yaks in intensive production systems.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"162 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}