Overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens: A meta-analysis
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered promising alternatives to traditional antibiotics for promoting growth and reducing disease incidence in livestock. However, the effects of AMP additives on broiler chickens remain uncertain. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of 43 studies published from...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-10-01
|
| Series: | Poultry Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125008648 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849236172964888576 |
|---|---|
| author | Xinru Luo Ying Chen Yuxuan Xiao Yongfei Hu Yuqing Feng |
| author_facet | Xinru Luo Ying Chen Yuxuan Xiao Yongfei Hu Yuqing Feng |
| author_sort | Xinru Luo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered promising alternatives to traditional antibiotics for promoting growth and reducing disease incidence in livestock. However, the effects of AMP additives on broiler chickens remain uncertain. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of 43 studies published from January 2000 to January 2024 to evaluate the effects of AMPs on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and immune organ development in broiler chickens. Our findings indicate that the addition of AMPs significantly improved the average daily gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR), along with notable effects on the overall average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P < 0.05). AMPs enhanced small intestinal morphology by increasing the villus height and the villus height to crypt depth ratio (P < 0.05) without decreasing crypt depth. Furthermore, the addition of AMPs promoted immune system development by increasing the weights of the thymus and spleen during the starter period (P < 0.05). Notably, AMPs outperformed conventional antibiotics in improving the ADFI and jejunal villus height (P < 0.05), demonstrating comparable efficacy in improving the FCR (P > 0.05). Our meta-analysis suggests that AMPs can serve as effective alternatives to antibiotics in broiler chickens. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1237dd7ac6a84a649c39f77cfd7d68b1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0032-5791 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Poultry Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-1237dd7ac6a84a649c39f77cfd7d68b12025-08-20T04:02:26ZengElsevierPoultry Science0032-57912025-10-011041010562310.1016/j.psj.2025.105623Overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens: A meta-analysisXinru Luo0Ying Chen1Yuxuan Xiao2Yongfei Hu3Yuqing Feng4State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCorresponding author.; State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaAntimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered promising alternatives to traditional antibiotics for promoting growth and reducing disease incidence in livestock. However, the effects of AMP additives on broiler chickens remain uncertain. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of 43 studies published from January 2000 to January 2024 to evaluate the effects of AMPs on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and immune organ development in broiler chickens. Our findings indicate that the addition of AMPs significantly improved the average daily gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR), along with notable effects on the overall average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P < 0.05). AMPs enhanced small intestinal morphology by increasing the villus height and the villus height to crypt depth ratio (P < 0.05) without decreasing crypt depth. Furthermore, the addition of AMPs promoted immune system development by increasing the weights of the thymus and spleen during the starter period (P < 0.05). Notably, AMPs outperformed conventional antibiotics in improving the ADFI and jejunal villus height (P < 0.05), demonstrating comparable efficacy in improving the FCR (P > 0.05). Our meta-analysis suggests that AMPs can serve as effective alternatives to antibiotics in broiler chickens.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125008648Antimicrobial peptidesBroiler chickenMeta-analysisAntibiotic substitution |
| spellingShingle | Xinru Luo Ying Chen Yuxuan Xiao Yongfei Hu Yuqing Feng Overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens: A meta-analysis Poultry Science Antimicrobial peptides Broiler chicken Meta-analysis Antibiotic substitution |
| title | Overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens: A meta-analysis |
| title_full | Overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens: A meta-analysis |
| title_fullStr | Overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens: A meta-analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens: A meta-analysis |
| title_short | Overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens: A meta-analysis |
| title_sort | overall assessment of antimicrobial peptides in broiler chickens a meta analysis |
| topic | Antimicrobial peptides Broiler chicken Meta-analysis Antibiotic substitution |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125008648 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xinruluo overallassessmentofantimicrobialpeptidesinbroilerchickensametaanalysis AT yingchen overallassessmentofantimicrobialpeptidesinbroilerchickensametaanalysis AT yuxuanxiao overallassessmentofantimicrobialpeptidesinbroilerchickensametaanalysis AT yongfeihu overallassessmentofantimicrobialpeptidesinbroilerchickensametaanalysis AT yuqingfeng overallassessmentofantimicrobialpeptidesinbroilerchickensametaanalysis |