This study sought to determine the effects of rosemary leaf powder (RP) on laying performance, egg quality, serum indices, gut barrier function, and cecal microbiota and metabolites of late-phase laying hens. A total of 84 “Jing Tint 6” laying hens at 65-week old were randomly divided into 2 groups and fed either a basal diet (CON) or a basal diet supplemented with 0.3% RP. Our study revealed that RP improved the Haugh unit and decreased yolk n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio of laying hens, increased serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), jejunal activities of SOD and catalase (CAT), and jejunal zonula occludens-1 () expression, as well as decreased serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) level and jejunal mRNA expression. RP markedly enhanced ( < 0.05) cecal abundances of Rikenellaceae, , and , tended to promote ( = 0.076) butyrate concentration, and reduced ( < 0.05) cecal abundances of Erysipelatoclostridiaceae, Sutterellaceae, Fusobacteriaceae, Campylobacteraceae, , , and , which were closely linked with Haugh unit, yolk n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio, serum SOD and TNF-α. In addition, RP altered the metabolic functions of cecal microbiota and enhanced the abundances of butyrate-synthesizing enzymes, including lysine 2,3-aminomutase, β-lysine 5,6-aminomutase, and 3-oxoacid CoA-transferase. Together, 0.3% RP has the potential to enhance egg quality by partially modulating serum antioxidant status, jejunal barrier function, and cecal microbiota structure and metabolites, indicating that RP could be considered a promising feed additive to promote the production performance of late-phase laying hens.

中文翻译：

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迷迭香叶粉可改善后期蛋鸡的鸡蛋质量、抗氧化状态、肠道屏障功能以及盲肠微生物群和代谢物

本研究旨在确定迷迭香叶粉 (RP) 对后期产蛋鸡的产蛋性能、鸡蛋质量、血清指数、肠道屏障功能以及盲肠微生物群和代谢物的影响。 84只65周龄“京彩6号”蛋鸡随机分为2组，饲喂基础日粮（CON）或添加0.3%RP的基础日粮。我们的研究表明，RP 改善了蛋鸡的哈夫单位并降低了蛋黄 n-6/n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸 (PUFA) 比率，增加了血清超氧化物歧化酶 (SOD)、SOD 和过氧化氢酶 (CAT) 的空肠活性以及空肠zonula occlusionns-1 () 表达，以及血清肿瘤坏死因子-α (TNF-α) 水平和空肠 mRNA 表达降低。 RP 显着增强 ( < 0.05) Rikenellaceae、 、 和 的盲肠丰度，倾向于提高 ( = 0.076) 丁酸盐浓度，并降低 ( < 0.05) 丹毒梭菌科、 Sutterellaceae、 Fusobacteriaceae、 Campylobacteraceae、 、 和 的盲肠丰度，这两者密切相关哈夫单位、蛋黄 n-6/n-3 PUFA 比率、血清 SOD 和 TNF-α。此外，RP 改变了盲肠微生物群的代谢功能，并提高了丁酸合成酶的丰度，包括赖氨酸 2,3-氨基变位酶、β-赖氨酸 5,6-氨基变位酶和 3-含氧酸 CoA 转移酶。总之，0.3% RP 有可能通过部分调节血清抗氧化状态、空肠屏障功能以及盲肠微生物群结构和代谢物来提高鸡蛋质量，这表明 RP 可以被认为是一种有前景的饲料添加剂，可促进后期产蛋的生产性能母鸡。