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New Feed for Optimizing the Gastrointestinal Health and Nutritional Utilization...
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New Feed for Optimizing the Gastrointestinal Health and Nutritional Utilization of Poultry and Livestock

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 688

Editors

Dr. Miaomiao Bai

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Guest Editor
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Interests: animal nutrition; gastrointestinal health; development of new feed resources
Prof. Dr. Hongnan Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Physiology and Metabolic Process, National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Science, Changsha 410125, China
Interests: animal nutrition; intestinal health; development of unconventional feed resources
Prof. Dr. Xiaozhen Song

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Interests: ruminant nutrition; gastrointestinal health; development of plant extract feed additives

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gastrointestinal health and efficient nutrient utilization are pivotal for animal welfare, production performance, and sustainable livestock and poultry farming, while novel feed development is a core strategy to address these needs amid global demands for green, antibiotic-free production.

This Special Issue of Animals focuses on novel feed and related technologies for enhancing poultry and livestock gut health and nutrient utilization. The scope covers new feed formulations, functional additives, unconventional feed resources, gut microecology regulation, and nutrient metabolism improvement. This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research to promote green, efficient animal feeding. This Special Issue will supplement the existing literature by bridging gaps between feed innovation, gut physiology and nutritional efficiency, providing practical solutions for sustainable animal production. We welcome the submission of review articles and original research papers.

Dr. Miaomiao Bai
Prof. Dr. Hongnan Liu
Prof. Dr. Xiaozhen Song
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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

  • gastrointestinal health
  • nutrient utilization
  • new feed
  • functional additives
  • poultry and livestock

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 500 KB  
Article
The Evaluation of Zinc Source and Dose in Broiler Diets Fed at Different Calcium and Phosphorus Levels in the Presence or Absence of Phytase
by Jamie L. Fourie, Kyle M. Venter, Peter W. Plumstead, Christine Jansen van Rensburg, Clara R. Angel and Cibele A. Torres
Animals 2026, 16(16), 2485; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16162485 - 10 Aug 2026
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Abstract
Phytate is a strong chelator of macro- and microminerals in the gastrointestinal tract. Under an environment in which phytate is rapidly hydrolyzed, the digestion and absorption of Ca, P, Zn and other cations from raw materials can be increased. This study investigated the [...] Read more.
Phytate is a strong chelator of macro- and microminerals in the gastrointestinal tract. Under an environment in which phytate is rapidly hydrolyzed, the digestion and absorption of Ca, P, Zn and other cations from raw materials can be increased. This study investigated the performance, mineral excretion and bone mineralization of broilers fed diets formulated to optimize phytate hydrolysis and supplemented with Zn in the form of a Zn amino acid complex (Zn-AA) or as Zn sulfate (Zn-S). A total of 5040 day-old Ross 308 straight-run broiler chicks were allocated to 84 pens in a complete randomized block design, with 7 treatments and 12 replicates per treatment. Treatments 1 and 2 followed the breed recommendations (RECs) for Ca and P inclusion according to a three-phase feeding program and were supplemented with 90 ppm Zn as Zn-S, with (treatment 1) or without phytase (treatment 2), where treatment 1 is representative of a typical commercial-type diet. The remaining five treatments followed the University of Maryland (UMD) REC for Ca and P inclusion in a five-phase feeding program. The UMD diets were supplemented with either 90 ppm Zn-S (treatment 3) or graded levels of Zn-AA at 20, 40, 60, and 80 ppm (treatments 4–7). Phytase (2000 FTU/kg) was added to all diets except treatment 2. Data were analyzed in JMP 16.0 using one-way ANOVA regression analysis for Zn-AA treatments and Rao–Scott chi-square analysis for categorical data. Broilers fed 80 ppm Zn-AA resulted in heavier (p < 0.05) bodyweight (BW) on d 10, 16, 24, 30, and 37 when compared to all birds fed Zn-S at 90 ppm. On d 10, broilers fed 80 ppm Zn-AA had a higher (p < 0.05) tibia ash and tibia Zn content compared to those fed 90 ppm Zn-S (285.34 vs. 258.53 mg/tibia; and 12.00 vs. 10.62 mg Zn). Breast yield was also higher when comparing 80 ppm Zn-AA and 90 ppm Zn-S using the UMD REC (30.12 vs. 29.32%). Furthermore, broilers fed 40 ppm and above of organic Zn had less severe back scratches at term. It was therefore concluded that supplementation of Zn-AA following the UMD Ca and P REC resulted in increased growth performance and promoted higher breast yield of broilers whilst improving welfare. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Feed for Optimizing the Gastrointestinal Health and Nutritional Utilization of Poultry and Livestock)
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20 pages, 3932 KB  
Article
Dietary Puerarin Modulates the Rumen Microbiota and Enhances Growth Performance and Rumen Fermentation in Hu Sheep
by Chuntao Nie, Jiaxin Ye, Daibo Fu, Xinqi Pan, Tangkai Zhu, Wenkai Chen, Miaomiao Bai and Xiaozhen Song
Animals 2026, 16(15), 2425; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16152425 - 5 Aug 2026
Viewed by 144
Abstract
Puerarin has been suggested to improve ruminant productivity, but its effects on rumen fermentation and rumen microbiota in sheep remain insufficiently understood. In this study, Hu sheep were fed diets supplemented with 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, or 800 mg/kg puerarin for 30 [...] Read more.
Puerarin has been suggested to improve ruminant productivity, but its effects on rumen fermentation and rumen microbiota in sheep remain insufficiently understood. In this study, Hu sheep were fed diets supplemented with 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, or 800 mg/kg puerarin for 30 d to evaluate growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, serum biochemical and antioxidant indices, rumen fermentation, and rumen microbial community structure. Puerarin supplementation improved growth performance, with the 100 mg/kg group showing the greatest average daily gain. Acid detergent fiber digestibility was also significantly increased in the 100 mg/kg group. In the rumen, microbial crude protein concentration was significantly increased in the 100 and 400 mg/kg groups, propionate concentration was significantly increased in the 50 and 100 mg/kg groups, and the acetate-to-propionate ratio was significantly decreased in the 100 mg/kg group. In serum, albumin and glucose concentrations were significantly increased at appropriate supplementation levels, whereas malondialdehyde was reduced in the 100 mg/kg group but increased in the 800 mg/kg group. 16S rRNA sequencing showed limited effects on overall bacterial diversity, but changes in specific rumen microbial taxa and predicted microbial functions were observed. Collectively, these findings suggest that dietary puerarin, particularly at 100 mg/kg, may improve growth performance in Hu sheep, at least in part, through improving rumen fermentation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Feed for Optimizing the Gastrointestinal Health and Nutritional Utilization of Poultry and Livestock)
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