This study evaluated the antioxidant ability of Taisung No. 3 mulberry leaf extract (MLE) as well as the potential of mulberry leaf (ML)-based dietary supplementation for modulating the antioxidative status of laying hens. The results showed that the MLE had a total phenolic compound content of 7.4 ± 0.15 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight (DW) and a total flavonoid content of 4.4 ± 0.19 mg of quercetin equivalent/g DW. The 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free-radical-scavenging ability was 45.9% when 0.1 mg/mL MLE was added. The lipid oxidation inhibition ability was 43.9% when 50 mg/mL MLE was added. We subjected 96 laying hens (Hendrix Genetics) to 4 treatments, namely diets supplemented with dry ML at 0 (control), 0.5, 1, or 2% for 12 weeks. Each treatment involved 8 replicates with 3 hens each. The results indicated that the 0.5% ML-supplemented group exhibited significantly higher mRNA levels of antioxidant-regulated genes, such as Nrf2, HO-1, and GST, and significantly lower ROMO1 gene expression levels at wk 12. The serum malondialdehyde level was lower and the catalase activity and superoxide dismutase activity were higher in all the ML-supplemented groups than in the control group. The egg mass and feed conversion rate significantly improved in the ML-supplemented groups compared with the control group, and, overall, 1% ML supplementation had the most favorable effects at one to 12 weeks. The egg yolk weight, shell weight, shell strength, shell thickness, yolk color, and Haugh unit were increased among all ML-supplemented groups at one to 12 weeks. On the basis of these observations, we conclude that 0.5% ML can be used as a new feed additive to potentially modulate the antioxidative status of laying hens and improve their production performance and egg quality.

Sericin, a textile waste, can be used for antioxidant and skin-whitening purposes. The hydrothermal method of extracting sericin is more eco-friendly than are chemical and enzymatic methods. In this study, silk cocoons were cut into pieces and then subjected to hydrothermal extraction at three temperatures (160, 200, and 220 °C) to obtain sericin extracts (Sericin160, Sericin200, and Sericin220, respectively). Antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibition were measured to determine the extracts’ effectiveness. Sericin220 was the strongest antioxidant, with total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and ferric reducing power of 62.19 ± 0.04 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight, 0.07 ± 0.01 mg quercetin equivalent/g dry weight, and 181.49 ± 0.024 mg vitamin C equivalent/g dry weight, respectively. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations for DPPH and ABTS free-radical scavenging ability were 6.41 ± 0.05 and 0.79 ± 0.37 mg/mL, respectively. Sericin220 also exhibited the highest tyrosinase inhibition activity (70.82 ± 4.1 mg vitamin C equivalent/g), indicating its whitening potential.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the growth performance and intestinal microflora population of broilers fed diets with aged brown rice (abr) that had been stored for 3 years. the abr was the material chosen to analyse the grain quality, which included the physical properties as well as nutrient analysis to evaluate its applicability in broiler diet. the germination rate, pH value, whiteness value of grains and fatty acid content of aged rice are significantly reduced during storage (p<0.05), while the nutritional value and content of essential amino acids do not differ from those of fresh brown rice (P>0.05). A total of five hundred 1-day-old broilers (Ross 308) were evenly divided by gender and randomly allocated into 5 groups (with 4 replicates of 25 birds), including: 1) control (corn-soybean meal), 2) 25% of corn replaced with 25% of ABR (ABR 25), 3) 50% of corn replaced with 50% of ABR (ABR 50), 4) 75% of corn replaced with 75% of ABR (ABR 75), 5) 100% of ABR replaced with yellow corn (ABR 100), respectively, in order to evaluate growth performance as well as intestinal microflora population of broilers fed ABR. The diets were formulated to contain similar levels of the main nutrient requirements of broilers. the results indicated that the replacement of ABR for corn in feed had no significant impact on the growth traits of broilers (p>0.05). the ph value of ileal digesta decreased as the replacement of ABR increased at the age of 21 days (P<0.05). The volatile fatty acids of ileal digesta of the ABR 75 and ABR 100 groups were significantly lower than those of the control group at the age of 21 days (p<0.05), but not caecum. there was no difference with lactic acid bacteria and coliform counts in ileum and caecum, respectively, of broilers among the groups during the entire feeding period (P>0.05). In conclusion, this study found that ABR may replace 100% of yellow corn and did not influence growth performance of broilers, thus providing an alternative for the use of stored rice in broiler diets.

Background Chenopodium formosanum (CF) provides the human body with numerous nutritional components. This study used the two-phase system to identify an efficient method to obtain CF extracts. CF extraction was performed using an ethanol–ammonium sulfate two-phase system. The efficacy of different CF extracts with five types of antioxidant ability was tested and compared with traditional aqueous and alcohol extractions. Results The results showed that a separated top of the two-phase system extract had higher total phenol content (120.35 ± 5.80 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry extract), total flavonoid content (447.06 ± 16.57 mg quercetin equivalent/g dry extract) and reducing ability (284.48 ± 4.60 mg vitamin C equivalent/g dry extract) than those of other extracts. Furthermore, the separated top of the two-phase system extract and the top of the two-phase system extract had higher 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging ability and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) free radical scavenging ability than those of the water extract, alcohol extract, bottom of two-phase system extract, and separated bottom of two-phase system extract. Conclusions The results indicate that CF has great potential for use in natural plant health supplements and skin care products and that the two-phase extraction system can yield an effective CF extract. Graphical Abstract