Feed additives mainly refer to certain substances added in the production, processing and use of various feeds, and the dosage of the substances added is generally a small amount or trace level. Although the amount added is small, it can have a good buff effect. Common feed additives include inorganic salts, buffers, trace elements, antibiotics, amino acids and Chinese herbal medicines.

Eucommia itself contains many nutrients, which can effectively improve the growth performance of chickens, improve the meat quality of chickens, improve the immunity of chickens, improve the egg production rate of laying hens and the quality of eggs, and are very ideal feed additives.

PART.01

The active ingredient of Eucmmia Leaf 

1.1 Flavonoids

The amount of flavonoids is one of the functional indicators to measure the quality of Eucommia Leaf , and the leaves and male flowers of Eucommia Leaf contain more flavonoids. There are more than 10 kinds of flavonoids contained in the leaves of Eucommia Leaf , and the content of various flavonoids in the leaves of Eucommia Leaf in different regions is different.

1.2 Polysaccharide compounds

Eucommia Leaf polysaccharides have the function of resisting exercise-induced fatigue, and their mechanism is related to regulating the body's glucose metabolism and saving protein, and at the same time, eucommia polysaccharides also have the effect of lowering blood sugar and blood lipids.

1.3 Chlorogenic acid

Chlorogenic acid belongs to phenylpropanoid compounds, which has good physiological functions such as antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant and antitumor, and the leaves of Eucommia Leaf also contain more chlorogenic acid, and its content ranges from 1% ~ 5%.

1.4 Miscellaneous

In addition to flavonoids, polysaccharides, iridoid ethers, and chlorogenic acids, eucommia also contains lignins, antibacterial proteins, phenylpropanoids, volatile oils, amino acids, phenols, trace elements, fatty acids and other components.

PART.02

Application of Eucommia Leaf in chicken feed

2.1 Improve growth performance

The addition of eucommia Leaf to chicken feed can effectively improve the growth performance of chickens. Generally, the application of Eucommia Leaf in chicken feed is mainly to add Eucommia Leaf extract or Eucommia Leaf powder to basic chicken feed and diet. However, the effect of different concentrations of Eucommia Leaf extract was also inconsistent, and the average daily weight gain of broilers was increased by 26.13%, 25.05% and 24.94% respectively compared with the control group when 0.05%, 0.10% and 0.15% of Eucommia Leaf extract was added to the diet of 29~35 days of Aibor Yijia broiler (AA broiler). Although the effects of different concentrations were inconsistent, the addition of Eucommia Leaf extract to the basic chicken feed and diet could improve the average daily weight gain, feed conversion rate and growth rate of AA white chicken, colorful pheasant, Liangshan rock eagle chicken and Sanhuang chicken.

2.2 Improve meat quality

Feeding chickens with Eucommia Leaf leaf extract and Eucommia Leaf powder to a basal diet can improve the meat quality of chickens to some extent. Zhang Junmin et al. added 0.1% and 0.2% of eucommia extract to the diet of AB Yijia broiler (AA broiler) for 42 days, the abdominal fat rate of AB Yijia broiler (AA broiler) decreased by 16% and 14.9%, respectively, and the pectoral muscle rate increased by 15.3% and 8.2%, respectively. In addition, feeding chickens with Eucommia leaf extract and Eucommia Leaf powder to the basal diet of chickens increased the total amino acid content in the pectoral muscle of Avian broilers, increased the ratio of hydroxyproline content in the skin of Locke brown chicken to hydroxyproline content in chicken meat (increased the collagen content in the skin of chickens), and increased the ratio of pectoral and leg muscles in the carcass of Xuefeng black-bone chickens and decreased the abdominal fat ratio of Xuefeng black-bone chickens. In summary, Eucommia Leaf can effectively reduce the fat content of chickens and increase the rate of protein synthesis in chickens.

2.3 Enhance immunity

Many research results have shown that Eucommia Leaf as a feed additive can effectively improve the immune ability of chickens and has a positive effect on the healthy growth of chickens。 Eucommia Leaf increases the immunity of chickens mainly by improving the intestinal microbes of chickens (inhibiting the growth of E. coli in the intestine and promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli), promoting the growth and development of immune organs, and changing the content of immunoactive molecules in chickens. When 0.05%, 0.15% and 0.2% of Eucommia Leaf extract were added to the diet of 42-day-old Abat Yijia broilers (AA broilers), the serum immunoglobulin M content of Abat Yijia broilers (AA broilers) increased by 118.89%, 73.33% and 71.11%, respectively, compared with the control group.

2.4 Improve egg production rate and egg quality

Adding Eucommia Leaf to chicken feed can effectively improve the egg production rate and egg quality of laying hens. Adding a certain concentration of Eucommia Leaf extract and a certain proportion of Eucommia Leaf powder to the basic chicken feed can effectively improve the egg production rate of Isa laying hens, Roman powder laying hens, AA laying hens, high Hailan (brown) commercial laying hens and Roman brown commercial laying hens. Among them, the highest increase in egg laying rate was in Isa laying hens, which increased the egg production rate by 10.4% compared with the control group (fed only basic chicken feed). Eucommia Leaf can not only improve the egg production rate of laying hens, but also improve the quality of the eggs laid, adding Eucommia Leaf fed laying hens, can generally increase the egg white protein content, reduce the egg yolk cholesterol content, change the egg weight of eggs, change the egg yolk ratio and maintain the composition of egg flavor substances, so as to improve the quality of eggs.