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Sustainable Poultry Production: Physiology and Nutrition (Second Edition)
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Sustainable Poultry Production: Physiology and Nutrition (Second Edition)

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Poultry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 3696

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jayant Lohakare

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA
Interests: poultry nutrition; feed additives; nutrigenomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Guillermo Tellez-Isaias

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Interests: feed additives; nutritional physiology; microbiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ahmed Abdel-wareth

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Agriculture, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Interests: poultry nutrition; feed additives
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Poultry meat and eggs can meet the demands of protein needs for the growing human population, as one of the cheapest animal protein sources. With the rising trend in the consumption of poultry products, it is necessary to sustainably produce poultry products without causing environmental damage and maintaining profitability. For sustainable poultry production, there is a need to find alternatives to costly vegetable protein sources such as soybean meal, or increase the efficiency of production by using feed additives or utilization of agro-industrial byproducts for nutrient recycling. Microalgae and insect proteins can serve as alternatives to soybean meal. Studies on how nutrients from these alternative protein sources can be efficiently utilized to meet physiological demands are required. The focus of this Special Issue is to improve our current understanding of the nutritional physiology of alternate protein sources, feed additives and agro-byproducts for efficient nutrient utilization and recycling for sustainable poultry production.

Considering the success of our previous Special Issue, we are pleased to launch “Sustainable Poultry Production: Physiology and Nutrition (Second Edition)”. We welcome the submission of research articles and literature reviews.

Dr. Jayant Lohakare
Prof. Dr. Guillermo Tellez-Isaias
Dr. Ahmed Abdel-wareth
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • poultry
  • sustainability
  • physiology
  • nutrition
  • feed additives
  • microalgae
  • agricultural byproducts

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4679 KiB  
Article
Effect of Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) Supplementation on Production Performance, Immune Response and Antioxidant Function of Improved Rural Chicken
by Kekungu-u Puro, Sayed Nabil Abedin, Zakir Hussain, Jaredth B. M. Wankhar, Sunil Doley, Chubasenla Aochen, Burhan Uddin Choudhury, Mahak Singh, Rahul Katiyar and Sourabh Deori
Animals 2025, 15(5), 742; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15050742 - 5 Mar 2025
Viewed by 724
Abstract
Alligator weed (AW; Alternanthera philoxeroides) can have severe ecological and economic consequences by impacting water quality, flow and the growth of native flora and fauna. Plants, both edible and inedible, contain phenolics, compounds that can serve as antioxidants. Using this background information, [...] Read more.
Alligator weed (AW; Alternanthera philoxeroides) can have severe ecological and economic consequences by impacting water quality, flow and the growth of native flora and fauna. Plants, both edible and inedible, contain phenolics, compounds that can serve as antioxidants. Using this background information, the study aimed to explore the possible antioxidative nature of AW by incorporating it as a supplement on production performance, gene expression, and antioxidant levels during the summer and winter seasons in improved-variety rural chicks. A total of 400 improved-variety Vanaraja chicks (35 days old), were used in each of the two seasons (summer and winter), making a combined total of 800 birds (n = 400 for each summer and winter season). The chicks were subjected to four experimental dietary treatments over a 35-day period during both seasons. The experimental diet consisted of the following: a control diet without any supplements (C); basal diet + 1% AW (T1); basal diet + 2% AW(T2); and basal diet + 4% AW(T3). The production performance, cytokine gene expression (IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12 and iNOS) and serum antioxidants, viz. catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), were evaluated. The results indicated that body weight, average body weight gain and weekly feed intake in the T1 group was significantly (p < 0.05) higher as compared to the other groups. The FCR in group T1 was significantly (p < 0.05) lower during winter than in summer. A significant (p < 0.001) upregulation in the expression of IL-6, IL-1β and IL-12 in T1 as compared to the other groups was reported. IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6 and iNOS were significantly (p < 0.001) upregulated in winter. SOD and CAT activity was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in T1 compared to C, and both were significantly (p < 0.05) higher during winter than in summer. The results suggested that AW has the potential to mitigate the consequences of cold stress on growth, immune response, and antioxidant function during winter. We propose adding 1% AW, which can possibly function as an antioxidant, to the diet of chicks to enhance their production performance and immunity levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Poultry Production: Physiology and Nutrition (Second Edition))
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15 pages, 328 KiB  
Article
The Expressions of the Immunity- and Muscle Development-Related Genes of 40-Day-Old Broilers Are Promoted in Response to the In Ovo and Dietary Supplemental Administration of Calcidiol in Conjunction with the In Ovo Administration of Marek’s Disease Vaccine
by Seyed Abolghasem Fatemi, April Waguespack Levy and Edgar David Peebles
Animals 2025, 15(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15010010 - 24 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1042
Abstract
Effects of in ovo and dietary sources of calcidiol (25(OH)D3), combined with Marek’s disease vaccine (MDV), on the expression of genes involved with the antioxidant activity, muscle deposition, and immunity in the pectoralis major (P. major) muscle and spleen of 40 [...] Read more.
Effects of in ovo and dietary sources of calcidiol (25(OH)D3), combined with Marek’s disease vaccine (MDV), on the expression of genes involved with the antioxidant activity, muscle deposition, and immunity in the pectoralis major (P. major) muscle and spleen of 40 d of age (doa) broilers were investigated. The in ovo treatments were as follows: (1) non-injected; (2) the injection of 50 μL of commercial MDV, (3) MDV + 1.2, or (4) 2.4 μg of 25(OH)D3. All birds received either a commercial diet containing no supplemental 25(OH)D3 (control) or the same diet supplemented with an additional 69 µg of 25(OH)D3 per kg of feed (Hy-D diet). At 40 doa, the pectoralis major (P. major) muscle and spleen of 48 birds (six replicates per diet x in ovo treatment combination) were collected. When compared to un-supplemented commercial diet-fed birds, in birds that were fed the Hy-D diet, the expression of the TGF-β4 gene in the spleen and P. major muscle, and the GSH-P1, GSH-P7, SOD2, MyoG, MyoD1, and Pax3 genes in the P. major muscle were up-regulated, whereas the expression of the IL-1β, IL-8, and CYP24A1 genes in the spleen and P. major muscle were down-regulated. Nevertheless, birds that received any of the in ovo injection doses of 25(OH)D3 exhibited a higher expression of the IL-10, TGF-β4, and CYP27B1 genes in the spleen and P. major muscle. Furthermore, in comparison to the MDV-injected control group, the CAT, MyoD1, and Pax3 genes in the P. major muscle were up-regulated, and the expression of the INF-γ, IL-1β and CYP24A1 genes in the spleen and the IL-8, and IL-1β genes in the P. major muscle were down-regulated. In conclusion, a significant improvement in the expression of genes responsible for enzymatic antioxidant activity, protein synthesis, and inflammatory reactions in 40-day-old broilers occurred in response to in ovo and dietary supplemental 25(OH)D3, and supplemental 25OHD3 provided via either route was used to enhance the expression of genes linked to vitamin D activity (CYP27B1, CYP24A1). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Poultry Production: Physiology and Nutrition (Second Edition))
15 pages, 4045 KiB  
Article
Mulberry Branch Extracts Enhance the Antioxidant Capacity of Broiler Breast Muscle by Activating the Nrf2 and Cytochrome P450 Signaling Pathway
by Xiang Shi, Wei Qian, Xinlan Wei, Xiaoqing Qin, Jinyan Han, Chao Su and Lijun Bao
Animals 2024, 14(24), 3702; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14243702 - 22 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 915
Abstract
Mulberry branch extracts (MBEs) have garnered significant attention as natural feed additives and antioxidants; however, their antioxidant properties in meat post-slaughter and their influence on muscle-related metabolic processes remain largely unexplored. Herein, we evaluated the effects of MBEs on the antioxidant capacity and [...] Read more.
Mulberry branch extracts (MBEs) have garnered significant attention as natural feed additives and antioxidants; however, their antioxidant properties in meat post-slaughter and their influence on muscle-related metabolic processes remain largely unexplored. Herein, we evaluated the effects of MBEs on the antioxidant capacity and metabolic processes of breast muscle in yellow-feather broilers by adding 0 g/kg, 1.5 g/kg, 3.0 g/kg, and 4.5 g/kg of MBEs to their diets. The results demonstrate that MBEs enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes in muscle tissue. Specifically, a real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that MBEs increased the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes in a dose-dependent manner, activated the Nrf2 signaling pathway, and upregulated the expression of the Nrf2 gene and its downstream targets at doses of up to 3.0 g/kg. Furthermore, the results of widely targeted metabolomics indicate that the dietary supplementation of MBEs changed the amino acid profile of the muscle, increasing the levels of amino acids and small peptides that contribute to antioxidant properties while reducing the contents of oxidized lipids and carnitine (C5:1) and partially reducing the content of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). Notably, at doses of up to 3 g/kg, the levels of five signature bile acids increased in correlation with the added dose. A KEGG analysis indicated that the differential metabolites were predominantly enriched in the metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, suggesting that the function of MBEs may be associated with the expression of P450 enzymes. In summary, this study demonstrates that MBEs are effective, safe, and natural antioxidants, offering a viable solution to mitigating oxidative stress in the yellow-feather broiler farming industry and even in livestock farming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Poultry Production: Physiology and Nutrition (Second Edition))
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