Effect of Red Orange and Lemon Extract-Enriched Diet in Suckling Lambs’ Fecal Microbiota

Massimo Ferrara, Maria Federica Sgarro, Aristide Maggiolino, Sara Damiano, Francesco Iannaccone, Giuseppina Mulè and Pasquale De Palo
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Massimo Ferrara: Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council (CNR), Via G. Amendola 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy
Maria Federica Sgarro: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University “Aldo Moro” of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Italy
Aristide Maggiolino: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University “Aldo Moro” of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Italy
Sara Damiano: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Federico Delpino n.1, 80137 Naples, Italy
Francesco Iannaccone: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, University “Aldo Moro” of Bari, Via G. Amendola, 165/A, 70126 Bary, Italy
Giuseppina Mulè: Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council (CNR), Via G. Amendola 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy
Pasquale De Palo: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University “Aldo Moro” of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Italy

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-11

Abstract: Red orange and lemon extract (RLE) is an anthocyanins-rich dietary supplement that may influence gastrointestinal bacterial community in ruminants. The aim of the present study was to investigate the RLE effects on gut microbiota composition in lambs. Twenty-eight lambs were randomly divided into a control group (CON; n = 14) and an anthocyanin group (ANT; n = 14) and fed the same diet; additionally, only the ANT received 90 mg/kg live weight of RLE at day. After lamb slaughter (40 ± 1 days), fecal samples were collected from the rectum and stored at −20 °C until analysis. Analysis of fecal microbiome was carried out by metabarcoding analysis of 16S rRNA. After reads denoising, sequences were aligned against SILVA rRNA sequence database using MALT, and taxonomic binning was performed with MEGAN. A significant increase in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes and a decrease in Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria was observed in ANT compared to CON. Moreover, an interesting increase of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera and a decrease in Escherichia coli and Salmonella species were detected in ANT compared to CON. Results recommend that anthocyanin supplementation in lamb diet is able to modulate positively gut microbiota and may inhibit the growth of some potential pathogenic microorganisms.

Keywords: gut microbiota; lambs; anthocyanins (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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