Effects of Kadsura coccinea L. Fruit Extract on Growth Performance, Meat Quality, Immunity, Antioxidant, Intestinal Morphology and Flora of White-Feathered Broilers.

This study aimed to determine whether adding Kadsura coccinea fruit extract to the diet of broilers could replace antibiotics. For this study, 300 one-day-old AA white feathered broilers were divided into five groups (no sex separated), with six repetitions per group (n = 10), as follows: blank control group (basal feed, CK group), positive drug (basal feed + 300 mg/kg aureomycin, PD group), and Kadsura coccinea low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose groups (basal feed + 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 300 mg/kg of Kadsura coccinea fruit extract, LD group, MD group and HD group). The experiment period was divided into early (1-21 days) and late (22-42 days) stage. We found that supplementation with Kadsura coccinea fruit extract in the diet significantly improved the growth performance of broilers ( p < 0.05), reduced the feed to meat ratio ( p < 0.05), reduced the fat percentage ( p < 0.05), while had no significant effect on meat quality ( p > 0.05) and Kadsura coccinea fruit extract could promote the development of immune organs to different extents, enhance antioxidant capacity, the contents of SOD and GSH-Px in serum were significantly increased ( p < 0.05), improve the ratio of villus height to crypt depth. Finally, Kadsura coccinea fruit extract increased the relative abundance of probiotics and beneficial bacteria ( Bacteroidales , NK4A214 , Subdoligranulum and Eubacterium hallii ) ( p < 0.05) and reduced the relative abundance of harmful bacteria ( Erysipelatoclostridium ) ( p < 0.05) in the gut of broilers. Compared with positive drug group, most of the indexes in the medium-dose group were better or had similar effects. We believe that Kadsura coccinea fruit extract can be used as a potential natural antibiotic substitute in livestock and poultry breeding programs.