Dietary Replacement of Soybean Meal with Zanthoxylum bungeanum Seed Meal on Growth Performance, Blood Parameters, and Nutrient Utilization in Broiler Chickens

Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed meal (ZBM), a novel plant protein raw material, has shown promising potential in enhancing the growth of broiler chickens as a substitute for soybean meal (SBM) in feed. In the artificial digestive experiment of vitro experiments, the digestibility of ZBM and SBM were assessed using the SDS-III Single Stomach Animal Biometric Digestion System. Subsequently, 180 1-day old AA chicks were divided into three groups for in vivo experiments: corn-soybean-meal-based diet (CON group); ZBM replacing 5% soybean meal in the basal diet (ZBM-1 group); ZBM replacing 10% soybean meal in the basal diet (ZBM-2 group). The experiment period lasted for 42 days. Compared to SBM, ZBM demonstrated higher crude protein content, dry matter digestibility, and extracorporeal digestible protein. Compared with the CON group, the broilers in the ZBM-2 group showed improved ADG and ADFI during the 1-21 d, 22-42 d, and 1-42 d periods (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the ZBM groups exhibited significant increases in slaughter performance compared with the CON group (p < 0.05). The substitution of ZBM for SBM also leads to a significant reduction in serum enzyme indicators (p < 0.05). Additionally, the lipoprotein and total cholesterol of the ZBM groups were significantly lower than those of the CON group (p < 0.05). Substituting SBM with ZBM significantly enhances the activity of superoxide dismutase and the content of immunoglobulin G in broiler serum, while reducing the content of malondildehyde (p < 0.05). The ZBM groups showed significantly higher utilization of dry matter, crude protein, and energy compared with the CON group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the study confirmed that the substitution of SBM with 5-10% ZBM in broiler diets has a significant positive effect on growth, development, antioxidant capacity, immune function, and nutrient utilization. This study not only provides a theoretical foundation for the utilization of ZBM in broiler diets but also offers an effective approach for reducing reliance on soybean meal.