{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T11:18:54Z","timestamp":1765970334696,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765929600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Research and Development of Key Technologies for the Horse Industry in Xinjiang","award":["2022A02013"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022A02013"]}]},{"name":"Jun Meng"},{"name":"Xinkui Yao"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Purpose: This study investigated the effects of dietary bamboo leaf extract (BLE) on milk parameters and intestinal microbiota in lactating Yili mares. Methods: Twenty-four Yili mares of similar age (10 \u00b1 2 years), weight (360.62 \u00b1 15.23 kg) and body condition were selected for this study and randomly divided into four groups of six mares each: an untreated control group (CG) and three experimental groups (EG1, EG2, EG3) were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 10, 20, or 30 g\/day of BLE, respectively, for 60 days. Then, horse milk composition, antioxidant activity, and immunoglobulin levels along with the relative abundance of fecal microbiota were measured. Results: Compared with the control group, supplementation with BLE for 60 days significantly improved milk yield and composition. The protein content in the EG1 was significantly higher than that in the CG, the milk yield and fat content in the EG2 was significantly higher than that in the CG, and the lactose content in the EG3 was significantly higher than that in the CG. BLE also significantly increased the milk\u2019s antioxidant capacity, vitamin C, IgG, IgM, and IgA levels, with the antioxidant and immune properties in the EG2 being significantly higher than those in the CG. Furthermore, BLE feeding promoted communities of beneficial intestinal microbes. Bacteria associated with energy metabolism and organic matter decomposition increased significantly in BLE-fed groups, especially the EG2, which had elevated abundance of UCG-002 and the NK4A214_group. BLE also significantly reduced the abundance of Euryarchaeota, Verrucomicrobiota, Methanobacteriaceae, and Methanobrevibacter. Conclusions: Dietary supplementation with bamboo leaf extract is a safe and inexpensive way to enhance milk yield and quality and to promote the growth of beneficial intestinal microbes in Yili horses.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life15121928","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T10:41:23Z","timestamp":1765968083000},"page":"1928","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effect of Supplemental Bamboo Leaf Extract on Milk Production, Composition, Biochemical Indices, and Fecal Microbiota Diversity in Grazing Yili Mares"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-2954-7111","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chuankun","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Xinjiang Agricultural Vocational and Technical University, Changji 831100, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7148-4557","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jianwen","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Horse Breeding and Exercise Physiology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Xinjiang Agricultural University, No. 311 Nongda East Road, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bingqiang","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Horse Breeding and Exercise Physiology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Xinjiang Agricultural University, No. 311 Nongda East Road, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ting","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Horse Breeding and Exercise Physiology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Xinjiang Agricultural University, No. 311 Nongda East Road, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3270-532X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xinxin","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Horse Breeding and Exercise Physiology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Xinjiang Agricultural University, No. 311 Nongda East Road, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Meng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Horse Breeding and Exercise Physiology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Xinjiang Agricultural University, No. 311 Nongda East Road, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-1881-1221","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yaqi","family":"Zeng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Horse Breeding and Exercise Physiology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Xinjiang Agricultural University, No. 311 Nongda East Road, Urumqi 830052, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Ruoyu, J. (2011). Effects of Bamboo Extract on Production Performance and Blood Biochemical Indexes of Dairy Cows in Late Lactation. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Anhui Agricultural University]."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"3302","article-title":"Effects of bamboo leaf extract on lactation performance, blood routine indexes, immune and antioxidant properties of dairy cows","volume":"31","author":"Li","year":"2019","journal-title":"Acta Zool. Sin."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"4286","article-title":"Effects of bamboo leaf flavonoids and Artemisia annua extract on milk production performance, somatic cell number in milk and serum immune and antioxidant related indexes of cows with subclinical mastitis","volume":"31","author":"Hou","year":"2019","journal-title":"Acta Zool. Nutr. Sin."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Douhard, F., Lema\u00eetre, J.-F., Rauw, W.M., and Friggens, N.C. (2016). Allometric scaling of the elevation of maternal energy intake during lactation. Front. Zool., 13.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12983-016-0164-y"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"99","article-title":"Effects of Different Feeding Regimes on Milk Yield and Composition in Altay Horses","volume":"26","author":"Hazbek","year":"2024","journal-title":"China Anim. Health"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1353\/chn.2020.0041","article-title":"Effects of different levels of Saccharomyces cerevisiae extracts on growth performance, immune function and fecal microflora structure of horses","volume":"21","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"China Feed"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"88","DOI":"10.1016\/j.anifeedsci.2017.09.012","article-title":"Gastrointestinal functionality in animal nutrition and health: New opportunities for sustainable animal production","volume":"234","author":"Celi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Anim. Feed Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Xie, L., Xing, J., Qi, X., Lu, T., Jin, Y., Akhtar, M.F., Li, L., and Liu, G. (2023). Effects of Concentrate Feeding Sequence on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, VFA Production, and Fecal Microbiota of Weaned Donkeys. Animals, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani13182893"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2600","DOI":"10.1007\/s42535-023-00761-8","article-title":"Phytochemical screening, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of bamboo leaf collected from agroecosystem of the Central Siwalik region, Nepal","volume":"37","author":"Kc","year":"2024","journal-title":"Vegetos"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"skac201","DOI":"10.1093\/jas\/skac201","article-title":"Effects of bamboo leaf extract intervention on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and hepatic apoptosis in suckling piglets","volume":"100","author":"Yu","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_11","first-page":"80","article-title":"Advances in Equine Gut Microbiome Research Based on High-Throughput Sequencing Technology","volume":"42","author":"Wueren","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"2772","article-title":"Effects of Different Dosages of Bamboo Leaf Extract on Blood Biochemical Indexes of Yili Horse during Lactation","volume":"59","author":"Wu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Xinjiang Agric. Sci."},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"2786","article-title":"Effects of Different Levels of Bamboo Leaf Extract on Milk Yield and Milk Composition of Yili Horse during Lactation","volume":"59","author":"Ma","year":"2022","journal-title":"Xinjiang Agric. Sci."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cao, G., Yu, Y., Wang, H., Liu, J., Zhang, X., Yu, Y., Li, Z., Zhang, Y., and Yang, C. (2022). Effects of Oral Administration of Bamboo (Dendrocalamus membranaceus) Leaf Flavonoids on the Antioxidant Capacity, Caecal Microbiota, and Serum Metabolome of Gallus gallus domesticus. Front. Nutr., 9.","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2022.848532"},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"e59980","article-title":"Microbiota analysis using two-step PCR and next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing","volume":"152","author":"Shahi","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Vis. Exp."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Jing, G. (2006). Effect of Pueraria Extract on Lactation Performance of Dairy Cows and Its Mechanism. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Henan Agricultural University]."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Yuxin, G. (2013). Effects of Gypsophila Vaccaria Extract on Production Performance and Blood Indexes of Mid Lactation Dairy Cows. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Henan Agricultural University]."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2012.12.003","article-title":"Effect of daidzein on production performance and serum antioxidative function in late lactation cows under heat stress","volume":"152","author":"Liu","year":"2013","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"5","article-title":"Effects of phytoestrogen supplementation on milk yield and milk composition of Yili mares during lactation","volume":"5","author":"Guo","year":"2016","journal-title":"China Feed"},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Zhan, J., Shen, Y., Li, X., Zhang, H., Niu, H., Fang, L., Xiong, B., Tong, J., and Jiang, L. (2021). Microbiome and metabolic changes of milk in response to dietary supplementation with bamboo leaf extract in dairy cows. Front. Nutr., 8."},{"key":"ref_21","first-page":"900","article-title":"Effects of bamboo leaf extract on lactation performance, serum biochemical, antioxidant and immune indexes of heat-stressed dairy cows","volume":"33","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Chin. J. Anim. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"26","article-title":"Effect of Daidzein on milk yield and quality","volume":"24","author":"Hao","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Beijing Agric. Univ."},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"30","article-title":"Effects of Daidzein on milk yield and conventional components in milk of dairy cows","volume":"6","author":"Yang","year":"2005","journal-title":"Feed Res."},{"key":"ref_24","first-page":"5","article-title":"Effects of soybean isoflavones on milk yield and milk composition of dairy cows","volume":"4","author":"Cheng","year":"2009","journal-title":"Feed Expo"},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Li, M. (2019). Effects of Bamboo Leaf Extract on Rumen In Vitro Fermentation Parameters and Gas Production of Dairy Cows. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Beijing University of Agriculture]."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2821","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biocel.2013.10.004","article-title":"Flavonoids as prospective compounds for anti-cancer therapy","volume":"45","author":"Ravishankar","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1727","DOI":"10.1016\/j.freeradbiomed.2006.04.033","article-title":"Consumption of flavonoid-rich foods and increased plasma antioxidant capacity in humans: Cause, consequence, or epiphenomenon?","volume":"41","author":"Lotito","year":"2006","journal-title":"Free Radic. Biol. Med."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"23","article-title":"Bioactivity of flavonoids from bamboo leaves and their application in animal husbandry","volume":"12","author":"Zhou","year":"2019","journal-title":"Guangdong Feed"},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Liu, D. (2011). Study on the Correlation Between the Molecular Mechanism of Anti-Fatigue Effect and Anti-Oxidation Effect of Eucommia Ulmoides Leaves. [Ph.D. Thesis, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology]."},{"key":"ref_30","first-page":"139","article-title":"Effects of alfalfa flavone on proliferation and antioxidant of cultured dairy cow mammary epithelial cells","volume":"24","author":"Su","year":"2015","journal-title":"Acta Pratacult. Sin."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"645","DOI":"10.1113\/jphysiol.2003.040303","article-title":"Effect of vitamin C supplements on antioxidant defence and stress proteins in human lymphocytes and skeletal muscle","volume":"549","author":"Khassaf","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"456","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1439-0396.2007.00734.x","article-title":"Growth, weaning performance and blood indicators of humoral immunity in Holstein calves fed supplemental flavonoids","volume":"92","author":"Yaghoubi","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Anim. Physiol. Anim. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_33","first-page":"15","article-title":"Effects of daidzein on immune function and serum and milk hormone levels in dairy cows","volume":"42","author":"Yang","year":"2006","journal-title":"Chin. J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"Shu, G. (2015). Biological Effects and Mechanism of Action of Bamboo Leaf Flavonoids on Broiler Chickens. [Ph.D. Thesis, Sichuan Agricultural University]."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Farooqui, A., Horrocks, L., and Farooqui, T. (2009). Choline and ethanolamine glycerophospholipids. Handbook of Neurochemistry and Molecular Neurobiology, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-387-30378-9_2"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huang, F.-C. (2017). The role of sphingolipids on innate immunity to intestinal Salmonella infection. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms18081720"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yu, M., Gao, T., Liu, Z., and Diao, X. (2020). Effects of dietary supplementation with high fiber (stevia residue) on the fecal flora of pregnant sows. Animals, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10122247"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"681","DOI":"10.1111\/evj.12532","article-title":"Development of the faecal microbiota in foals","volume":"48","author":"Costa","year":"2016","journal-title":"Equine Vet. J."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jia, X., He, Y., Kang, Z., Chen, S., Sun, W., Wang, J., and Lai, S. (2023). Comparison of Fecal Microbiota Communities between Primiparous and Multiparous Cows during Non-Pregnancy and Pregnancy. Animals, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani13050869"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, Z., Huang, B., Gao, X., Shi, X., Wang, X., Wang, T., Wang, Y., Liu, G., and Wang, C. (2023). Dynamic changes in fecal microbiota in donkey foals during weaning: From pre-weaning to post-weaning. Front. Microbiol., 14.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2023.1105330"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e00509","DOI":"10.1002\/mbo3.509","article-title":"Core fecal microbiota of domesticated herbivorous ruminant, hindgut fermenters, and monogastric animals","volume":"6","author":"Harris","year":"2017","journal-title":"Microbiologyopen"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, X., Wu, X., Shang, Y., Gao, Y., Li, Y., Wei, Q., Dong, Y., Mei, X., Zhou, S., and Sun, G. (2022). High-altitude drives the convergent evolution of alpha diversity and indicator microbiota in the gut microbiomes of ungulates. Front. Microbiol., 13.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2022.953234"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Costa, M.C., Arroyo, L.G., Allen-Vercoe, E., St\u00e4mpfli, H.R., Kim, P.T., Sturgeon, A., and Weese, J.S. (2012). Comparison of the fecal microbiota of healthy horses and horses with colitis by high throughput sequencing of the V3\u2013V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene. PLoS ONE, 7.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0041484"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chaucheyras-Durand, F., Sacy, A., Karges, K., and Apper, E. (2022). Gastro-intestinal microbiota in equines and its role in health and disease: The black box opens. Microorganisms, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms10122517"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Xu, C., Cheng, C., Zhang, X., and Peng, J. (2020). Inclusion of soluble fiber in the gestation diet changes the gut microbiota, affects plasma propionate and odd-chain fatty acids levels, and improves insulin sensitivity in sows. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 21.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms21020635"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"523","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tim.2016.02.015","article-title":"Oscillospira: A central, enigmatic component of the human gut microbiota","volume":"24","author":"Konikoff","year":"2016","journal-title":"Trends Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fu, X., Zhang, Y., Shi, B., Wu, X., Zhao, H., Xin, Z., and Yang, J. (2022). Benzoic Acid Metabolism and Lipopolysaccharide Synthesis of Intestinal Microbiome Affects the Health of Ruminants under Free-Range and Captive Mode. Life, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/life12071071"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aninu.2021.06.013","article-title":"Different dietary protein sources influence growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immunity, fecal microbiota and metabolites in weaned piglets","volume":"8","author":"Zhang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Anim. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, C., Li, X.Y., Bin Li, X., Ma, C., Chen, H., and Yang, F. (2024). Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal microbial diversity and volatile fatty acid, and blood biochemical indices of suckling donkeys fed diets supplemented with multienzymes. BMC Vet. Res., 20.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12917-024-03907-1"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3210","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-020-60131-1","article-title":"Fecal bacteria and metabolite responses to dietary lysozyme in a sow model from late gestation until lactation","volume":"10","author":"Xu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2763","DOI":"10.1111\/jam.15138","article-title":"Characterization of growth phenotypes and gastrointestinal tract microbiota in sheep fed with caragana","volume":"131","author":"Zhang","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Appl. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shen, Y., Jiang, Y., Zhang, S., Zou, J., Gao, X., Song, Y., Zhang, Y., Hu, Y., Huang, Y., and Jiang, Q. (2022). The effect of dietary supplementation with resveratrol on growth performance, carcass and meat quality, blood lipid levels and ruminal microbiota in fattening goats. Foods, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/foods11040598"},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2223","DOI":"10.1038\/s41396-020-0678-3","article-title":"Linking perturbations to temporal changes in diversity, stability, and compositions of neonatal calf gut microbiota: Prediction of diarrhea","volume":"14","author":"Ma","year":"2020","journal-title":"ISME J."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4979","DOI":"10.1039\/C8FO01477A","article-title":"Effects of different levels of methionine on sow health and plasma metabolomics during late gestation","volume":"9","author":"Bin","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Funct."}],"container-title":["Life"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-1729\/15\/12\/1928\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T10:54:03Z","timestamp":1765968843000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-1729\/15\/12\/1928"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]]},"references-count":54,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]}},"alternative-id":["life15121928"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/life15121928","relation":{},"ISSN":["2075-1729"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2075-1729","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]]}}}