{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,8]],"date-time":"2026-11-08T03:30:29Z","timestamp":1794108629944,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,26]],"date-time":"2025-03-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742947200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigated the effect of a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plant powder made from an equal proportion of <jats:italic>Sarcococca ruscifolia<\/jats:italic> Stapf, <jats:italic>Hedera nepalensis var. sinensis<\/jats:italic> (Tobl.) Rehd, and <jats:italic>Clematis chinensis<\/jats:italic> Osbeck on growth performance and intestinal health in Xianghuang chickens, focusing on intestinal histomorphology, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammation function. A total of 100 10-day-old male Xianghuang chickens were randomly assigned to two groups, with five replicate cages per group containing 10 birds each. The birds in the control group received a corn-soybean\u2013based diet, while the birds in the TCM group received the control diet supplemented with 2% of the TCM powder. The chickens were slaughtered for sample collection on D28. The results showed that the average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), and feed-to-gain (F:G) ratio were not affected by the TCM supplementation (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;gt;\u202f0.05). In the jejunum and ileum, the ratio of the villus height to the crypt depth was higher in the TCM group compared to the control group (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). Supplementing the chickens with 2% TCM powder increased the total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities in the jejunal mucosa compared to the control group (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). The gene expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-\u03b1) was downregulated in the jejunal mucosa and spleen in the TCM group compared to the control group (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). In conclusion, TCM powder can be safely utilized to promote the development of the intestinal tract by enhancing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions without affecting the growth performance. Our findings suggest that TCM powder is an effective and low-toxicity natural additive for intestinal improvement in poultry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2025.1538623","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,26]],"date-time":"2025-03-26T16:11:32Z","timestamp":1743005492000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Effects of a powder made from three medicinal plants on growth performance, intestinal health, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammatory ability in Xianghuang chickens"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Can","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"XiaoWu","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"RunTao","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"YunMiao","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qi","family":"Quan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"YuTian","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"JiaXuan","family":"Kuang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"JiaYi","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"QingHai","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhi","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11030-024-10961-2","article-title":"Synthesis, biological activities and mechanistic studies of C20-ketone pachysandra alkaloids as anti-hepatocellular carcinoma agents","author":"Zhao","year":"2024","journal-title":"Mol Divers"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104604","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fitote.2020.104604","article-title":"Cytotoxic androstane derivatives from Sarcococca ruscifolia","volume":"144","author":"Yi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Fitoterapia"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"461","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopha.2018.01.008","article-title":"Evaluation of antidiabetic potential of steroidal alkaloid of Sarcococca saligna","volume":"100","author":"Ullah Jan","year":"2018","journal-title":"Biomed Pharmacother"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"120","DOI":"10.1055\/s-2005-837777","article-title":"Presence of antispasmodic, antidiarrheal, antisecretory, calcium antagonist and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory steroidal alkaloids in Sarcococca saligna","volume":"71","author":"Giliani","year":"2005","journal-title":"Planta Med"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-73234-9_23","article-title":"The effects of ivy (Hedera helix) on respiratory problems and cough in humans: a review","volume":"1328","author":"Baharara","year":"2021","journal-title":"Adv Exp Med Biol"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1206","DOI":"10.3390\/ph16091206","article-title":"Mechanistic evidence of andrographis paniculata (Burm. 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