Positive Effects of Lycopene on Growth Performance, Hepatic Antioxidant Capacity, Intestinal Morphology, and Cecal Microflora of Yellow-Feather Broilers

Lycopene (Lyc) possesses strong antioxidant activity through its ability to scavenge singlet oxygen and modulate immune responses in livestock and poultry. As few studies have examined the effects of Lyc on hepatic antioxidant capacity in broilers, we evaluated the effects of dietary Lyc supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology, and microflora composition in yellow-feather broilers. We randomly assigned 480 one-day-old yellow-feather broilers to four dietary treatments: a basal diet with no additive (Con), and a basal diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg (Lyc150), 250 mg/kg (Lyc250), or 500 mg/kg (Lyc500) of lycopene. Compared to Con, Lyc supplementations significantly increased average daily gain by more than 14% from days 29 to 56. Additionally, Lyc250 significantly increased by over 6.4% in average daily feed intake from days 1 to 28, as well as by over 50% in hepatic levels of total antioxidant capacity and 65% in catalase on day 56. Lyc250 significantly increased villus height and decreased the villus-to-crypt ratio. Moreover, both Lyc250 and Lyc500 significantly downregulated hepatic Bax mRNA expression. Further, Lyc150 and Lyc250 significantly increased the relative abundance of <i>Fermentum_g_Lactobacilus</i>, <i>Enterococcus_cecorum_g_Enterococcus</i>, and <i>Ruminococcus sp_g_Ruminococcus</i>, but decreased <i>Acetobacter_lovaniensis_g_Acetobacter</i> and <i>Lactobacillus_amylolyicus_g_Lactobacilus</i>. Overall, our study found that Lyc supplementation significantly improved growth performance, enhanced hepatic antioxidant capacity, and modulated cecal microflora through increasing beneficial species in yellow-feather broilers.