Mechanistic Insights into the Physiological and Meat Quality Responses of Broiler Chickens Fed Incremental Turmeric Rhizome Meal

Natural products, such as turmeric rhizome meal (TRM), may hold the key to a sustainable solution to antimicrobial resistance rise and antibiotic prohibition in food-producing animals. This study evaluated the effects of dietary TRM at 0 (CON), 0.3 (TRM3), 0.6 (TRM6), and 0.9 g/kg (TRM9) on growth, nutrient digestibility, immunity, gut function, nutrient transport biomarkers, microbiome, and meat quality in 280 one-day-old male Ross 308 chicks over a 42-day feeding trial. Birds fed TRM indicated higher body weight gain and lower feed conversion ratio (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The TRM groups promoted higher (<i>p</i> = 0.001) serum immunoglobulin Y, immunoglobulin M, and interleukin-10 compared to the CON. Birds fed CON had higher interleukin-2 (<i>p</i> = 0.025), interleukin-6 (<i>p</i> = 0.027), and TNF-α (<i>p</i> = 0.008) levels compared to the TRM groups. Lactobacillus counts in jejunal villi and crypts were higher in the TRM groups than in the CON (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Dietary TRM increased electrogenic glucose and lysine transport, accompanied by up-regulation of claudin-5, zonula occludens 1, and mucin-2 expression (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In breast muscle, TRM fortification reduced malondialdehyde levels (<i>p</i> < 0.05) while increasing long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Thus, TRM is a potent, residue-free phytobiotic alternative to conventional antibiotic growth promoters in poultry systems.