Acta Agriculturae Zhejiangensis ›› 2025, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (10): 2049-2056.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-1524.20241132

• Animal Science • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of steviol glycosides on the growth of yellow-feathered broilers

LIU Yali1,2,3(), YANG Fusheng3, SONG Banggui4, DU Xue5, YU Qili3, CHEN Fei3, CHEN Guohong1,*()   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225100, Jiangsu, China
    2. Zhejiang Provincial Livestock Technology Promotion and Breeding Livestock and Poultry Monitoring Station, Hangzhou 310021, China
    3. Hangzhou Xiaoshan Donghai Breeding Co., Ltd., Hangzhou 311500, China
    4. College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
    5. College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
  • Received:2024-12-30 Online:2025-10-25 Published:2025-11-13

Abstract:

To investigate the effects of dietary steviol glycosides on the growth of yellow-feathered broilers, 240 healthy 36-day-old Lingnan medium-speed yellow-feathered female broilers with similar body weights were randomly allocated into 4 groups (control group, low-dose group, medium-dose group, and high-dose group), with 6 replicates per group and 10 chickens per replicate. The control group (CON) was fed a basal diet, while the low-dose (LSTE), medium-dose (MSTE), and high-dose (HSTE) groups received basal diet supplemented with 600, 800, and 1 000 mg·kg-1 of steviol glycosides, respectively. After a 7-day adaptation period, the experiment lasted for 42 days. The average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded during 43-day-old to 84-day-old. Serum reproductive hormones, biochemical parameters, and antioxidant indices of broilers at 84-day-old were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and biochemical methods. The results showed that dietary supplementation with steviol glycosides had no significant (p>0.05) effect on ADFI, ADG, or FCR from 43-day-old to 84-day-old. At 84-day-old, the serum estradiol (E2) content in broilers fed steviol glycosides was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in the control group, with the medium-dose group showing the highest E2 level. No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in serum progesterone (P4) content among the groups. Compared with the control group, dietary supplementation with steviol glycosides significantly (p<0.05) increased serum albumin (ALB) and total protein (TP) levels and significantly (p<0.05) reduced uric acid (UA) content, with the medium-dose group exhibiting the most pronounced improvements. Additionally, the medium-dose group significantly (p<0.05) lowered serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels compared with the other three groups. Dietary supplementation with steviol glycosides significantly increased serum levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) (p<0.05). The superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) content in the medium-dose group was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in the other groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with steviol glycosides can improve health status, increase serum estrogen levels, and improve antioxidant activity in yellow-feathered broilers. Under the conditions of this experiment, the addition of 800 mg·kg-1 steviol glycosides to the diet produced the most favorable effects.

Key words: steviol glycosides, yellow-feathered broiler, growth, reproductive hormone, serum biochemistry, antioxidant activity

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