Effects of fermented Arundo donax juice on growth performance, immunocompetence, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal digestive enzyme activity in Arbor Acres broilers.

In this study, we used lactic acid bacteria to ferment the byproduct of Arundo donax papermaking, Arundo donax juice (ADJ), to obtain fermented Arundo donax juice (FADJ). We aimed to investigate the effects of FADJ on the growth performance, immunocompetence, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal digestive enzyme activity of broilers. For the experiment, 288 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were selected and randomly divided into four groups (A+, A, B, and CK), with six replicates per group and 72 chickens per group. The control group (CK) was fed a basal diet, while groups A and A+ were supplemented with 3% and 6% FADJ A fermented with ADJ as the substrate, respectively, and group B was supplemented with 3% FADJ B fermented with ADJ supplemented with a small amount of lysine as the substrate. The trial period lasted 42 days. Compared with the control diet, supplementation with 6% FADJ A significantly increased the final body weight, average daily feed intake (ADFI), and average daily gain (ADG) of broilers, with no significant difference in the feed conversion ratio (FCR). The serum levels of T-AOC, GSH-Px, and SOD in broilers on days 21 and 42 were significantly elevated (P < 0.05) in all experimental groups, with the highest levels observed in group B. The concentrations of IgM, IgA, and IgG in broilers increased significantly (P < 0.05) across all experimental groups, with the highest concentrations found in group B. The addition of FADJ significantly increased the activities of intestinal lipase and trypsin in broilers (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that FADJ feed can improve the growth performance of broilers and increase their immunocompetence, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal digestive enzyme activity.