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Curculigo orchioides Polysaccharide Promotes the Growth and Development of Wenchang Chickens via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway
by
,
Sheng Gao
, 
Xingke Wang
,
Ruiying Bao
,
Qingchao Yang
,
Qingying Cai
,
Yipeng Zhang
,
Zeru Peng
,
Liangmin Huang
and
Xuemei Wang
* Animal Nutrition, Reproduction and Breeding Laboratory, Department of Animal Science, School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2025, 15(24), 3585; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15243585 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 12 November 2025
/
Revised: 4 December 2025
/
Accepted: 11 December 2025
/
Published: 13 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Paradigm Shift—Advances in Poultry Nutrition and Management, and Alternative Poultry Feed Ingredients Using Novel Feed Processing Methods: Second Edition)
Simple Summary
Growth performance serves as a core indicator in poultry farming for measuring production efficiency, economic benefits, and the rationality of farming models. It directly determines the profit margins, industrial competitiveness, and sustainable development capacities of farming enterprises. This study evaluated the effects of Curculigo orchioides Polysaccharide on the growth performance of Wenchang chickens. Results indicate that supplementing diets with these polysaccharides enhances growth performance during the brooding period, while also improving anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities in Wenchang chickens. These findings provide theoretical support for the use of traditional Chinese herbal medicines as feed additives in livestock and poultry farming.
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that polysaccharides used as feed additives can promote poultry growth. This study evaluated the effects of different doses of Curculigo orchioides Polysaccharide (COP) on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune function, intestinal health and related mechanisms in 1 to 35 days old Wenchang female chicks. A total of 120 female Wenchang chickens (1 day old) were assigned to three treatment groups, with 5 replicates per group and 8 chickens per replicate. The Wenchang chickens were fed a basal diet (control) supplemented with either a low dose of Curculigo orchioides Polysaccharide (400 mg/kg) or a high dose (800 mg/kg) for 5 weeks. Purified COP is composed of mannose (68.97%), glucose (24.38%), galactose (6.34%), and arabinose (0.32%). Results showed that high-dose COP supplementation significantly increased Wenchang chicken body weight (p < 0.05) and feed intake (p < 0.05); reduced feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05); increased small intestinal villus height and tight junction protein expression levels; enhanced muscle fiber cross-sectional area (p < 0.05); improved total antioxidant capacity (p < 0.01); decreased serum malondialdehyde levels (p < 0.01), tumor necrosis factor-α (p < 0.0001), and pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 levels (p < 0.05); and elevated antibody titers against Newcastle disease virus at 21, 28, and 35 days (p < 0.01). It also elevated the protein phosphorylation levels of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway (p < 0.0001) and enriched beneficial gut microbiota that may mediate this pathway activation. Analysis of the cecal microbiota in Wenchang female chicks revealed that the high-dose COP group enriched Oscillospira and Lactobacillus. In conclusion, high-dose COP improves growth performance and antioxidant capacity of Wenchang chicks, enhances immunity against NDV, enriches beneficial gut microbiota, and promotes growth by activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.
