Effects of Allium hookeri on gut microbiome related to growth performance in young broiler chickens

PLoS One. 2020 Jan 10;15(1):e0226833. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226833. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Healthy food promotes beneficial bacteria in the gut microbiome. A few prebiotics act as food supplements to increase fermentation by beneficial bacteria, which enhance the host immune system and health. Allium hookeri is a healthy food with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. A. hookeri is used as a feed supplement for broiler chickens to improve growth performance. Although the underlying mechanism is unknown, A. hookeri may alter the gut microbiome. In the current study, 16S rRNA sequencing has been carried out using samples obtained from the cecum of broiler chickens exposed to diets comprising different tissue types (leaf and root) and varying amounts (0.3% and 0.5%) of A. hookeri to investigate their impact on gut microbiome. The microbiome composition in the groups supplemented with A. hookeri leaf varied from that of the control group. Especially, exposure to 0.5% amounts of leaf resulted in differences in the abundance of genera compared with diets comprising 0.3% leaf. Exposure to a diet containing 0.5% A. hookeri leaf decreased the abundance of the following bacteria: Eubacterium nodatum, Marvinbryantia, Oscillospira, and Gelria. The modulation of gut microbiome by leaf supplement correlated with growth traits including body weight, bone strength, and infectious bursal disease antibody. The results demonstrate that A. hookeri may improve the health benefits of broiler chickens by altering the gut microbiome.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Allium / chemistry*
  • Animals
  • Biodiversity
  • Chickens / growth & development*
  • Chickens / microbiology*
  • Diet*
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / drug effects*

Grants and funding

This research was fully supported by the fund of Agriculture Science & Technology Development (PJ01178705, PJ01327901) from National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. The fund was used in this study design, data collection and analysis, or preparation of the manuscript. Bong-Sang Kim received support in the form of a salary from C&K genomics. Seung-Hwan Kim and Sang-Hyun Kang received support in the form of salaries from BHNBIO (KYOCHON F&B CO). The specific roles of the authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.