Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 52 ›› Issue (4): 1010-1019.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2021.04.016

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Hawthorn-leaves Flavonoids on the Quality of Eggshells of Breeder Hens in Late Egg-laying Period

DAI Hongjian1, Lü Zengpeng1, HUANG Zhenwu1, LI Simeng1, WEI Quanwei1, SUN Tao2, SHI Fangxiong1*   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China;
    2. Shandong Dezhou Lingcheng District Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service Center, Dezhou 253500, China
  • Received:2020-08-28 Online:2021-04-23 Published:2021-04-25

Abstract: Hawthorn-leaves flavonoids (HF), extracted from hawthorn leaves, were reported to exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hypolipidemic properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary HF on the eggshell quality of aged breeder hens. Qiling breeder hens (60-week-old) of 270 were randomly divided into 3 treatments(6 replicates per treatment, 15 hens per replicate): basic corn-soybean diet (CON); basic corn-soybean diet supplemented with 30 mg·kg-1 HF (LHF); basic corn-soybean diet supplemented with 60 mg·kg-1 HF (HHF). Pre-experiment period was 2 weeks,and formal experiment lasted 8 weeks. Eggs were obtained for quality determination, blood samples were taken for determining the content of Ca and P, and shell gland tissues were collected to observe the changes of histopathology, cell apoptosis and antioxidant proteins. The results showed that: 1) In comparison with the CON group, supplemental HF significantly improved the thickness and strength of the eggshell (P<0.05), but had no significant effect on the hgt, yolk color, haugh unit and relative shell gland weight (P>0.05). 2)In comparison with the CON group, serum levels of calcium were elevated and the mRNA expressions of CaBP-D28K, OPN and OC-116 genes in the shell gland of HF treated groups was significantly up-regulated (P<0.05). In the HHF group, the activity of Ca2+ ATP enzyme was significantly increased in comparison with the CON group (P<0.05). 3) Histological section analysis showed, HF treatment reduced the apoptosis rate of cells in the shell gland (P<0.05), and significantly increased the length of villi in the shell gland and the density of glands (P<0.05). 4) In comparison with CON group, dietary supplementation with HF significantly reduced the content of MDA in the shell gland (P<0.05), the activity of GSH-Px was significantly increased in HHF group (P<0.05). 5) In comparison with the CON group, HHF treatment significantly down-regulated the protein expression of KEAP1, p-NFκB /NFκB and Bax/Bcl2 (P<0.05), and significantly up-regulated the protein expression of Nrf2, HO-1 and PCNA (P<0.05). In summary, 60 mg·kg-1HF treatment group could enhance the antioxidant capacity of the shell gland by activating Nrf2/ HO-1 signaling pathway, thus reducing the rate of apoptosis and improving the ability of calcium transport, so as to improve the eggshell quality of aged breeder hens.

Key words: hawthorn-leaves flavonoids, late egg-laying period, eggshell quality, antioxidant

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