{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]],"date-time":"2026-08-23T16:08:27Z","timestamp":1787501307017,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,11]],"date-time":"2021-01-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1610323200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The Laetiporus sp. is a fungal species that is traditionally used for medicinal purposes. This study investigated the effects of the Laetiporus sulphureus fermented product (FL) as a feed supplementation on the antioxidant activities, the intestinal Tight Junction (TJ) mRNA expression, and the intestinal morphology of broiler chickens. Four-hundred one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated to five experimental diets: (1) a corn-soybean meal basal diet (control), (2) a basal diet replaced with 5% Wheat Bran (5% WB), (3) a basal diet replaced with 10% WB (10% WB), (4) a basal diet replaced with 5% FL (5% FL), and (5) a basal diet replaced with 10% FL (10% FL). The FL-supplemented groups exhibited a better feed conversion ratio in the overall experimental period compared to the WB and control groups. The serum antioxidant profiles of 35-day-old broilers showed that, compared to the control and 10% WB groups, the 5% FL supplementation group had a significantly increased superoxide dismutase activity, while it down-regulated the concentration of malondialdehyde in the serum (p &lt; 0.05). The assessment of selected antioxidant gene expression showed that the 5% FL group significantly elevated heme oxygenase-1 and nuclear factor erythroid 2\u2013related factor 2 expression, compared to the control and WB groups (p &lt; 0.05). Furthermore, both of the FL supplemented groups had a significantly higher expression of glutathione peroxidase and catalase, compared to that of the WB and control groups in the jejunum (p &lt; 0.05). The TJ mRNA expression in the jejunum showed that 5% FL significantly elevated the zonula occludens-1, claudin-1, and mucin-2 expression (p &lt; 0.05), while 5% and 10% FL supplementation significantly improved OCLN expression in both the jejunum and ileum, compared to control group (p &lt; 0.05). The intestinal morphology of 35-day-old broilers showed that a 5% FL supplementation significantly increased the villus height in the ileum and jejunum, compared to the WB and control groups (p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, the 5% and 10% FL supplementation groups had a significantly higher villi:crypt ratio in the ileum, compared to the WB and control groups (p &lt; 0.05). To conclude, FL supplementation improved the antioxidative status, the TJ mRNA expression, and the intestinal morphology, and it was accompanied by a lowered feed conversion ratio in broilers. Finally, 5% supplementation had the overall best results in improving the antioxidant status, TJ mRNA expression, and intestinal morphology of broilers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani11010149","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,11]],"date-time":"2021-01-11T11:36:11Z","timestamp":1610364971000},"page":"149","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["The Laetiporus sulphureus Fermented Product Enhances the Antioxidant Status, Intestinal Tight Junction, and Morphology of Broiler Chickens"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Wei Chih","family":"Lin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0063-5714","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tzu Tai","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan"},{"name":"The iEGG and Animal Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.3382\/ps.2009-00207","article-title":"Performance and antioxidant status of broiler chickens supplemented with dried mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) in their diet","volume":"89","author":"Giannenas","year":"2010","journal-title":"Poult. 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