Research Note: Effects of the intermittent feeding of microencapsulation essential oil on laying performance, egg quality, immune response, intestinal morphology, and oxidation status of laying hens

作者：Fazhi Xu, Jinbin Wang, E. J. Zhu, Feng Yao, Tiantian Xu, Xin Ru, Shuilian Gu, Xuelan Liu · 发表于：Poultry Science · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.psj.2024.103600 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Animal Nutrition and Physiology、Moringa oleifera research and applications、Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of microencapsulated essential oils (MEO) on the laying performance, egg quality, immunity, intestinal morphology, and oxidative status of laying hens. A total of 640 Hy-line Brown laying hens, 41 wk of age, were randomly divided into 4 groups, each with 8 replicates containing 20 birds per replicate. The dietary conditions tested included a basal diet (Control) or the basal diet supplemented with various levels of MEO at 100 mg/kg (MEO100), 300 mg/kg (MEO300), and 500 mg/kg (MEO500). The three treatment groups were intermittently fed MEO, following an alternating schedule of 1 wk on and 1 wk off for a total of 56 d. Results showed that feeding MEO at levels of 300 and 500 mg/kg improved both egg production and feed conversion ratios compared to the control group. Hens consumed MEO-supplemented diets exhibited a significant decrease in the breaking egg ratio (P < 0.05) compared to those fed the control diet. Shell thickness and Haugh unit values significantly increased in the groups receiving 300 and 500 mg/kg of MEO (P < 0.05). Both the MEO300 and MEO500 treatments led to improvements in immunoglobulin (IgA, IgM, and IgG) and cytokine (IL-2 and IFN-γ) levels in serum. Hens in the MEO300 and MEO500 groups exhibited higher values for parameters related to intestinal morphometry compared to the control group. Furthermore, supplementation with 300 and 500 mg/kg of MEO enhanced the antioxidant capacity of plasma, as evidenced by in...