Effects of tannic acid supplementation on growth performance, gut health, and meat production and quality of broiler chickens raised in floor pens for 42 days

Authors: CHOI, JANGHAN - University Of Georgia; LIU, GUANCHEN - University Of Georgia; GOO, DOYUN - University Of Georgia; WANG, JINQUAN - University Of Georgia; Bowker, Brian; Zhuang, Hong; KIM, WOO KYUN - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: Frontiers in Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2022
Publication Date: 12/16/2022
Citation: Choi, J., Liu, G., Goo, D., Wang, J., Bowker, B.C., Zhuang, H., Kim, W. 2022. Effects of tannic acid supplementation on growth performance, gut health, and meat production and quality of broiler chickens raised in floor pens for 42 days. Frontiers in Physiology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.1082009.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.1082009

Interpretive Summary: With the poultry industry's move towards antibiotic-free production, the identification of viable alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters for poultry production is vital. This study investigated the impact of supplementing broiler diets with tannic acid (TA). The findings from this study indicated that while supplementation of broiler starter/grower diets with TA had a positive influence on gut health and gut microbiota and had minimal impact on meat quality, TA impaired overall growth performance, bone health, and meat production in broilers.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of tannic acid (TA) supplementation on growth performance, gut health, antioxidant capacity, gut microbiota, and meat portion and quality in broilers on D 42. A total of 700 one-day-old male broiler chickens (Cobb 500) were allocated into 5 treatments with 7 replicates of 20 birds per pen. The five treatments were 1) tannic acid 0 (TA0; basal diet); 2) tannic acid 0.25 (TA0.25; basal diet + 0.25 g/kg TA); 3) tannic acid 0.5 (TA0.5; basal diet + 0.5 g/kg TA); 4) tannic acid 1 (TA1; basal diet + 1 g/kg TA); and 5) tannic acid 2 (TA2; basal diet + 2 g/kg TA). The whole experimental period was 42 days and included starter (D 0 to 18; crumble feed), grower (D 18 to 28; pellet feed), and finisher (D 28 to 42; pellet feed). On D 18, supplementation of TA linearly reduced body weight (BW) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P < 0.05), and on D 28, supplementation of TA linearly reduced BW, average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P < 0.05). No statistical differences were observed in growth performance parameters on D 42 (P > 0.1). Relative mRNA expression of genes related to mucin production (MUC2), tight junction proteins (CLDN2) and (JAM2), and nutrient transporters (B0AT1 and SGLT1) were linearly increased due to supplementation of TA (P < 0.05). Supplementation of TA tended to linearly increase the relative abundance of the family Enterobacteriaceae (P = 0.08) and quadratically increased the relative abundance of the family Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae in the cecal microbial communities. On D 36, the ratio of the phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes was quadratically reduced by supplementation of TA (P < 0.05). On D 42, total chilled carcass weight was linearly reduced (P < 0.05), and bone mineral density and the lean to fat ratio were linearly decreased by supplementation of TA (P < 0.05). While supplementation of TA positively influenced gut health and gut microbiota in the starter/grower phases, supplementation of TA impaired overall growth performance, bone health, and meat production in broilers on D 42.