Inclusion of different levels of fermented elephant grass in broiler chicken diet: effects on growth, physiology, carcass traits and gut microbial community

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dc.creatorUsman, S.
dc.creatorYan, Q.
dc.creatorGao, L.
dc.creatorDeng, S.
dc.creatorLu, L.
dc.creatorPang, T.
dc.creatorLai, D.
dc.creatorJones, Christopher S.
dc.creatorYi, X.
dc.creatorZhang, J.
dc.date2026-03-20
dc.date2026-03-31T07:42:13Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T17:04:51Z
dc.descriptionThe physiological and microbiome-modulating benefits of dietary forage in monogastrics are impeded by recalcitrant fiber and anti-nutritional factors. However, fermentation and appropriate inclusion levels may overcome these limitations. This study evaluated the effects of two fermented cultivars of elephant grass (<i>Cenchrus purpureus</i> cv. Guiminyin and cv. Purple) incorporated into broiler diets at different inclusion levels, with emphasis on cultivar-specific responses, growth performance, physiological status, and gut microbial composition. A total of 240 male (30-days old) Jinling earth-neck chickens were housed in four replicate pens of 12 birds each, and randomly assigned to five dietary treatments (48 birds per treatment): a control diet with no inclusion (0%), CpGui5 (5% Guiminyin inclusion), CpGui10 (10% Guiminyin inclusion), CpPur5 (5% Purple inclusion), and CpPur10 (10% Purple inclusion). CpGui5 and Control diets had statistically similar and higher final weight, total weight gain, average daily gain and feed efficiency which were higher than the other treatments (P < 0.05). On the other hand, Control, CpGui5 and CpPur5 had higher daily feed intake compared to CpGui10 and CpPur10 which had the lower daily feed intake (P < 0.05). Slaughter performance revealed significant differences (P < 0.05), with the control, CpGui5, CpPur5 and CpPur10 groups maintaining higher live weight, dressed weight, half-bore, and breast muscle rate while CpGui10 recorded the lowest values. Blood biochemical indices, including total protein, albumin, liver enzymes, and renal function markers, were unaffected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05), indicating no adverse physiological effects. Gut microbiome analysis showed stable richness (Chao1, ACE) across treatments, while diversity (Shannon, Simpson) was reduced in CpPur5 relative to other groups (P < 0.05). A shared core microbiome of 202 OTUs was detected across all treatments, alongside treatment-specific enrichment of taxa. LEfSe (Linear Discriminant Analysis Effect Size) analysis identified treatment-specific enrichment of functionally relevant bacterial genera, including <i>Megamonas</i> in CpGui5 and <i>Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014</i> and unclassified <i>Lachnospiraceae</i> at higher inclusion levels (CpGui10). Overall, moderate inclusion of fermented elephant grass, especially CpGui5 supports broiler performance while maintaining physiological health and gut microbial stability, highlighting its potential as a sustainable functional feed resource for poultry production.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/182310
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/141617
dc.languageen
dc.publisherFrontiers Media
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceUsman, S., Yan, Q., Gao, L., Deng, S., Lu, L., Pang, T., Lai, D., Jones, C.S., Yi, X. and Zhang, J. 2026. Inclusion of different levels of fermented elephant grass in broiler chicken diet: effects on growth, physiology, carcass traits and gut microbial community. Frontiers in Physiology 17:1767570.
dc.subjectanimal feeding
dc.subjectchickens
dc.subjectpoultry
dc.titleInclusion of different levels of fermented elephant grass in broiler chicken diet: effects on growth, physiology, carcass traits and gut microbial community
dc.typeJournal Article

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Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Pecuarias (ILRI)