{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T21:23:59Z","timestamp":1778621039382,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,13]],"date-time":"2025-06-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749772800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32360848"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32360848"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary zinc-loaded montmorillonite (Zn-MMT) on performance, Zn transporter expression, metal deposition, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal function in broilers. A total of 144 one-day-old male Cobb broilers were randomly divided into three treatment groups. The broilers in the control group (CK) were fed a corn\u2013soybean meal basal diet, while the experimental groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 40\u202fmg\/kg Zn-MMT and ZnSO<jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub> (in terms of Zn content). The results showed that Zn-MMT had no significant (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;gt;\u202f0.05) effect on average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), or carcass parameters, but it significantly (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05) reduced the feed-to-gain (F: G) ratio. Dietary Zn supplementation increased (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05) the expression of Zn transporter 1 (<jats:italic>ZnT-1<\/jats:italic>), Zn transporter 5 (<jats:italic>ZnT-5<\/jats:italic>), metallothionein (<jats:italic>MT<\/jats:italic>), and <jats:italic>MTF-1<\/jats:italic> mRNA in the jejunum and the Zn content in the tibia and whole blood. In addition, it increased (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05) total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and Cu\/Zn-SOD while reducing (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05) malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the liver and jejunum. However, no significant effect (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;gt;\u202f0.05) was observed on the microbial population in the cecum. Furthermore, compared to the CK and ZnSO<jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub> groups, Zn-MMT significantly (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05) increased the mRNA expression of <jats:italic>MT-3<\/jats:italic> and divalent metal transporter 1 (<jats:italic>DMT-1<\/jats:italic>) in the jejunum and promoted the storage of Zn in the liver and pancreas. It also significantly (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05) increased villus height (VH) and the villus heightto-crypt depth (VH\/CD) ratio in the duodenum and jejunum, increased the VH\/CD ratio in the ileum, and reduced CD in the duodenum. In conclusion, supplementation with Zn-MMT in a corn\u2013soybean meal basal diet can increase the expression of metal transporters, promote Zn deposition, enhance antioxidant capacity, improve intestinal tissue parameters, and increase Zn utilization.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2025.1609339","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,13]],"date-time":"2025-06-13T04:10:34Z","timestamp":1749787834000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Supplementation with Zn-loaded montmorillonite enhanced Zn ion transport, trace element deposition, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal function in 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