{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T22:48:18Z","timestamp":1787870898728,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782432000000},"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":"\n Introduction<\/jats:title>\n \n This study compared the efficacy of a\n Panax ginseng<\/jats:italic>\n polysaccharide (GPS) and\n Houttuynia cordata<\/jats:italic>\n essential oil (HCEO) complex with antibiotics in Arbor Acres broilers.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n Three hundred 1-day-old broilers were randomly assigned to five groups: a blank control group (C), an antibiotic group (A), and three groups administered the GPS-HCEO complex via drinking water at 0.1 (M1), 0.3 (M2), or 0.6 mL\/L (M3).<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Compared with Group C, FCR was significantly decreased in Groups M1, M2, and M3 during the early phase (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n &lt; 0.05). During the late phase and the overall experimental period, FCR was significantly lower in Groups A, M1, and M3 than in Group C (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n &lt; 0.05). For slaughter performance, the four treatment groups showed no significant differences in slaughter rate, semi-eviscerated rate, eviscerated rate, breast muscle rate, leg muscle rate, lean meat rate, or wing rate compared with Group C (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n &gt; 0.05), whereas Group A had a significantly lower abdominal fat rate than Group C and the three GPS-HCEO groups (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n &lt; 0.05). Serum analysis showed that IgG, IgM, IgA, IL-1, and IL-10 levels remained unchanged compared with Group C (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n &gt; 0.05), whereas serum triglyceride levels were increased in all treatment groups (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n &lt; 0.05). Antibiotic supplementation impaired duodenal morphology and reduced cecal microbial diversity, as reflected by the Simpson index, as well as the relative abundance of\n Firmicutes<\/jats:italic>\n and\n Tenericutes<\/jats:italic>\n . Supplementation with 0.6 mL\/L GPS-HCEO complex achieved a feed conversion efficiency comparable to that of antibiotics. Unlike antibiotics, the GPS-HCEO complex improved jejunal and ileal morphology, as indicated by increased VH and V\/C ratio, without disrupting the core microbial structure. It also promoted the enrichment of the beneficial genera\n Aerococcus<\/jats:italic>\n and\n Jeotgalicoccus<\/jats:italic>\n in the cecum.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n These findings suggest that the GPS-HCEO complex has potential as a feed additive for reducing antibiotic use in broiler production.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2026.1864942","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T04:41:00Z","timestamp":1782448860000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The effects of a composition of ginseng polysaccharides and Houttuynia cordata essential oil on the growth performance, slaughter performance, serum biochemistry and intestinal health of Arbor Acres broilers"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Weiwei","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhaobin","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sijuan","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Denghui","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hunan Microorganism & Herb Biotechnology Co., Ltd.","place":["Xiangtan, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bin","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hunan Microorganism & Herb Biotechnology Co., Ltd.","place":["Xiangtan, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huiran","family":"Kang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hunan Microorganism & Herb Biotechnology Co., Ltd.","place":["Xiangtan, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jieyang","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Academic Affairs Research Office, Shaoyang Industry Polytechnic College","place":["Shaoyang, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zikui","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"494","DOI":"10.1039\/D0FO01896A","article-title":"Recent progress in polysaccharides from Panax ginseng C. 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