Dietary phytogenic effects on cytoprotective and inflammatory responses in the ceca of laying hens

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a phytogenic premix (PP) on critical gene components relevant to detoxification (AhR), antioxidant (Nrf2) and inflammatory (NF-κB) responses in the ceca of laying hens. The PP (Anco FIT Poultry) consisted of bioactive compounds derived from ginger, lemon balm, oregano, and thyme combined on clay-based functional carriers. A total of 385, 20-week-old, Hy-Line Brown layers were assigned to five treatments with seven replicates of eleven hens each. Treatments received a corn-soybean meal basal diet with no PP (CON) or supplemented with PP at 500 (P500), 750 (P750), 1000 (P1000) and 1500 mg/kg diet (P1500), respectively. The feeding trial lasted 12 weeks. At the 8 th and 12 th week of the experiment (i.e., 28 th and 32 nd week of layers’ age), ceca samples were collected and stored deep frozen until qPCR analysis. The nutrigenomic results revealed that at the 8 th week, diets supplemented with PP down-regulated ( P ≤ 0.05) most of the AhR and the NF-κB pathway genes assessed in the ceca, while they up-regulated ( P ≤ 0.05) genes involved in the Nrf2 pathway. In addition, at the 12 th week, PP dietary inclusion beneficially modulated ( P ≤ 0.05) the AhR, Nrf2 and NF-κB pathway-related genes assessed in the ceca. In conclusion, according to the gene expression analysis, PP dietary inclusion appears to influence pathways related to detoxification, inflammation, and antioxidant responses, with the most pronounced effects observed at inclusion levels of 1000 to 1500 mg/kg diet.