{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T18:23:42Z","timestamp":1791915822138,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,15]],"date-time":"2023-11-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1700006400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100015975","name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2019B030301010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019B030301010"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100015975","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The health of chicks is closely related to their productivity. Yupingfeng polysaccharide (YPF-P) is a kind of water-soluble polysaccharide extracted from Yupingfeng powder; it has high pharmacological activity and can be used as a potential substitute for antibiotics to improve the health of chicks. This study aimed to investigate the effects of YPF-P on immune performance, the duodenum, and the cecal microflora of chicks. All chickens (4224) were randomly distributed into four groups (eight replicas\/group, 132 hens\/replica). The control group was fed a basal diet (0 g\/kg YPF-P), while the experimental groups were fed basal diets supplemented with 1, 2, or 4 g\/kg YPF-P. The results showed that YPF-P significantly increased the thymus index (p &lt; 0.05). The content of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), immunoglobulin A (IgA), and IgG and immunoglobulin M (IgM) was upregulated in the serum by YPF-P (p &lt; 0.05). YPF-P decreased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) (p &lt; 0.05). Further, 16S rRNA sequencing showed that 2 g\/kg YPF-P modulated the predominant duodenum and cecal microbial community structure, which increased the number of Faecalibacterium, Megamonas, Bacteroides, Alistipes, NK4A214_group, and Enterococcus. In conclusion, YPF-P ameliorated the growth performance of chicks by regulating serum immune and antioxidant balance, as well as the intestinal microbiota.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms11112774","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,15]],"date-time":"2023-11-15T10:57:46Z","timestamp":1700045866000},"page":"2774","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Effects of Yupingfeng Polysaccharides as Feed Supplement on Immune Function and Intestinal Microbiome in Chickens"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Wendan","family":"Zheng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuling","family":"Guan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bo","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2020.03.198","article-title":"Effects of polysaccharides from Yingshan Yunwu tea on meat quality, immune status and intestinal microflora in chickens","volume":"155","author":"Xiang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. 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