Effects Of Dietary Supplementation With Taiwanese Tea Byproducts And Probiotics On Growth Performance, Lipid Metabolism, And The Immune Response In Red Feather Native Chickens

Objective: This study compared the catechin composition of different tea byproducts and investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with green tea byproducts on the accu- mulation of abdominal fat, the modulation of lipid metabolism, and the inflammatory response in red feather native chickens.Methods: Bioactive compounds were detected, and in vitro anti-obesity capacity analyzed via 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. In animal experiments, 320 one-day-old red feather native chickens were divided into 4 treatment groups: control, basal diet supplemented with 0.5% Jinxuan byproduct (JBP), basal diet supplemented with 1% JBP, or basal diet supple- mented with 5x10(6) colony-forming unit (CFU)/kg Bacillus amyloliquefaciens+5x10(6) CFU/kg Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BA+SC). Growth performance, serum characteristics, carcass characteristics, and the mRNA expression of selected genes were measured.Results: This study compared several cultivars of tea, but Jinxuan showed the highest levels of the anti-obesity compound epigallocatechin gallate. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes treated with Jinxuan extract significantly reduced lipid accumulation. There were no significant differ- ences in growth performance, serum characteristics, or carcass characteristics among the groups. However, in the 0.5% JBP group, mRNA expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) were significantly decreased. In the 1% JBP group, FAS, ACC and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma levels were significantly decreased. Moreover, inflammation-related mRNA expression levels were decreased by the addition of JBP.Conclusion: JBP contained abundant catechins and related bioactive compounds, which reduced lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, however there was no significant reduction in abdominal fat. This may be due to a lack of active anti-obesity compounds or because the major changes in fat metabolism were not in the abdomen. Nonetheless, lipogenesis-related and inflammation-related mRNA expression were reduced in the 1% JBP group. In addition, dietary supplementation with tea byproducts could reduce the massive amount of byproducts created during tea production and modulate lipid metabolism and the inflammatory response in chickens.