Influence of Alpha-Ketoglutarate supplementation on broiler chickens’ growth, immunity and gut microbiota: A Preliminary Study

Alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), a precursor of glutamate and a critical intermediate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, Over the past few years, the amount of research being done on AKG has significantly increased. Several studies have shown positive effects on the intestinal function. Broiler chickens' intestinal immunity and microbiota have yet to be studied in relation to AKG supplementation from early life, and many unanswered questions remain. In a broiler model, this study examines the effect of AKG supplementation on growth performance, intestinal immunity, and intestinal microbiota. 288-day-old broiler chickens were divided into four groups at random (6 replicates each replicate has 12 chickens). NC (basal diet), PC (basal diet plus 15ppm virginiamycin), Low AKG and High AKG (basal diet + Alpha-ketoglutarate 1kg/t and 2kg/t, respectively). The findings of our study revealed that dietary AKG supplementation increased ADFI more than NC at 21 days. While as compared to NC at 21 day and 42 day FCR was higher in high AKG and low AKG groups respectively. All eviscerated ratio was higher in low AKG group, but the thigh muscle ratio was lower in both low and high AKG groups. Thymus weight was lower in high AKG group but interestingly spleen was higher in high AKG group as compared to NC. The immune response-related GENES was not significantly modified by α-KG. 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on all samples and data was analyzed using QIIME. No significant difference in gut community diversity or composition between NC, PC and AKG groups was observed. Firmicutes, Bacteroides, Campilobacterota, and Proteobacteria were found to be dominant phyla in all four groups. The dominant class was Bacilli, Bacterioda, Clostridium, and Negativicutes. Lactobacillales, Bacteroidales, and Lachnospirales were dominant orders. The dominant family were Lactobacillae, Bacterideceae, and Rikenellacae. The dominant genus was Lactobacillus. The dominant species included Bacteroides phelibetes, Lactobacillus aviarus, and Bacteriodes sp millerius. This finding suggests that use of AKG in broilers does not significantly influence microbial gastrointestinal diversity