Chen Jian, Yu Xiaojun, Wang Guang, Jiang Ziyi, Kong Lingpeng, Zhang Huanle, Wang Lihua
College of Animal Science and Technology, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 May 14;12:1565580. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1565580. eCollection 2025.
This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with cecropin antimicrobial peptides (CAD) on growth performance and intestinal health in growing male minks (). A cohort of 60 male minks (65 days old) were evenly divided into six groups and fed a basal diet supplemented with CAD at 0 (control), 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 mg/kg for 8 weeks. The findings revealed that the minks in 200 mg/kg CAD group had greater growth performance, with significantly higher final body weight (FBW) and average daily gain (ADG). Compared to the minks in the control ( < 0.05). Digestibility analyses at week 3 demonstrated that CAD supplementation enhanced ether extract (EE) digestibility ( < 0.05), while 200, 400, and 500 mg/kg CAD improved crude protein (CP) digestibility ( < 0.05). Intestinal morphology assessments indicated that 200 mg/kg CAD significantly increased duodenal and jejunal villus height (both < 0.05) and jejunal villus height-to-crypt depth ratio ( < 0.05) compared to the control. Serum immunological analyses revealed elevated levels of complement C4 and IgG in CAD-supplemented groups ( < 0.05). Notably, the 100 mg/kg CAD group exhibited the higher serum IgA, IgM, and complement C3, and less jejunal TNF- levels (all < 0.05). Microbiota profiling showed that CAD supplementation reduced the relative abundance of and , while 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg CAD decreased populations ( < 0.05). The 100 mg/kg CAD group displayed optimal immune enhancement and microbiota modulation, whereas the 200 mg/kg group achieved the best growth performance and intestinal function. These results suggest that dietary CAD supplementation at 100-200 mg/kg effectively improves growth, nutrient utilization, and intestinal health in growing male minks.
本研究调查了添加天蚕抗菌肽（CAD）的日粮对生长雄性水貂生长性能和肠道健康的影响。选取60只65日龄雄性水貂，平均分为六组，分别饲喂添加0（对照组）、100、200、300、400或500 mg/kg CAD的基础日粮，为期8周。研究结果显示，200 mg/kg CAD组水貂生长性能更佳，终末体重（FBW）和平均日增重（ADG）显著更高（与对照组相比，P<0.05）。第3周的消化率分析表明，添加CAD提高了乙醚提取物（EE）的消化率（P<0.05），而200、400和500 mg/kg CAD提高了粗蛋白（CP）的消化率（P<0.05）。肠道形态评估显示，与对照组相比，200 mg/kg CAD显著增加了十二指肠和空肠绒毛高度（均P<0.05）以及空肠绒毛高度与隐窝深度之比（P<0.05）。血清免疫学分析显示，添加CAD的组中补体C4和IgG水平升高（P<0.05）。值得注意的是，100 mg/kg CAD组血清IgA、IgM和补体C3水平更高，空肠TNF-α水平更低（均P<0.05）。微生物群分析表明，添加CAD降低了大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌的相对丰度，而100、200和400 mg/kg CAD减少了弯曲杆菌种群（P<0.05）。100 mg/kg CAD组表现出最佳的免疫增强和微生物群调节效果，而200 mg/kg组实现了最佳的生长性能和肠道功能。这些结果表明，日粮中添加100 - 200 mg/kg CAD可有效改善生长雄性水貂的生长、营养利用和肠道健康。
