{
  "abstract": "This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary soybean-derived bioactive peptides (SBP) and Spirulina powder (SP) as antibiotic alternatives on performance, amino acid digestibility, antioxidant status, and intestinal health-related gene expression in broiler chickens. A total of 250 male and female Ross 308 one-day-old chicks were used in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments, 5 replicates, and 10 chicks per replicate. The experimental treatments included: (1) a control diet consisting of the standard basal diet without any additive (CON); (2) a basal diet supplemented with avilamycin at 100 g/ton of feed (ANT); (3) a basal diet supplemented with SBP at 2 g/kg of feed (SBP); (4) a basal diet supplemented with SP at 2 g/kg of feed (SP); and (5) a basal diet supplemented with a combination of 1 g/kg SBP and 1 g/kg SP (SBP-SP). Body weight gain and feed intake during the starter and grower phases, as well as over the entire experimental period (1–42 d), was significantly greater in birds fed the SBP-SP diet compared with the CON and SP groups (P < 0.05). Broilers fed the SBP-SP, ANT, and SBP diets exhibited higher apparent ileal digestibility of Methionine, Isoleucine, Threonine, Aspartic acid and Glutamic acid compared with those fed the CON and SP diets (P < 0.05). Dietary inclusion of SBP-SP and ANT led to a substantial increase in both villus height, villus surface area, and the villus height to crypt depth ratio when compared to the CON group. Dietary supplementation with SP and SBP-SP significantly boosted the IBV antibody titers at both 21 d (P = 0.006) and 42 d (P = 0.017) compared to the CON, ANT, and SBP groups. The relative weight of the Bursa of Fabricius and Thymus was markedly increased in birds supplemented with SBP-SP and SP compared to those in the CON and SBP groups (P = 0.015). Broilers receiving the SBP-SP and SP treatments exhibited significantly higher levels of TAC, SOD, GPx, and CAT compared with the CON and ANT groups. The mRNA levels of IL-1β and TNF-α were markedly downregulated in birds receiving the SBP-SP diet compared to all other experimental groups (P < 0.05). The expression of ZO-1, MUC2, SLC15A1, SLC6A19 and SLC7A1 was significantly upregulated in the SBP-SP group compared to the CON group (P < 0.05). Collectively, these findings indicate that the combined use of SBP and SP exerts synergistic effects on digestive efficiency, intestinal function, and physiological status, suggesting that this combination may serve as a promising natural alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in broiler nutrition.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Animal Science, QaS.C., Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ali Jafarzadeh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kaveh Jafari-Khorshidi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mohammad Ali Jafari"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shahabodin Gharahveysi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sakineh Asadzadeh"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/94n46a3chxkf1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.psj.2026.108020",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13734873/",
  "id": "94n46a3chxkf1",
  "issns": [
    "0032-5791",
    "1525-3171"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.108020",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "METABOLISM AND NUTRITION"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1103|Animal Nutrition and Physiology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223150896",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579126016548/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13734873",
  "pmid": "42945839",
  "published": "2026-10-21",
  "publisher": "Elsevier",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/94n46a3chxkf1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:20:41Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13734873",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.108020"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1103|Animal Nutrition and Physiology",
      "subfield": "zoology-behaviour"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Evaluation of soybean meal bioactive peptides and Spirulina powder as antibiotic alternatives on growth performance, physiological responses, and intestinal gene expression in broilers",
  "title_text": "Evaluation of soybean meal bioactive peptides and Spirulina powder as antibiotic alternatives on growth performance, physiological responses, and intestinal gene expression in broilers",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:20:41Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/94n46a3chxkf1",
  "venue": "Poultry Science",
  "versions": []
}