Effects of Fagopyrum dibotrys Rhizoma Meal Supplementation on Productive Performance, Egg Quality, Egg Nutritional Value and Serum Biochemical Parameters of Shanma Laying Ducks

The rhizoma of Fagopyrum dibotrys (D. Don) Hara, a traditional natural medicinal herb with extensive historical applications in China, possess anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and antidiabetic effects. However, the potential positive effects of Fagopyrum dibotrys rhizoma meal (FDRM) on productive performance in high-density laying duck farming remain unclear. This experiment was conducted to assess the impacts of FDRM supplementation in Shanma laying ducks diet by determining productive performance, egg quality, egg nutritional value and serum biochemical parameters. With similar laying performance (80.88 ± 5.17 %) and body weight (1.24 ± 0.02 kg), 512 healthy 32-week-old Shanma laying ducks were randomly assigned to 4 groups consisting of 8 replicates (16 ducks per replicate). Ducks in the control group (F0 group) were fed only the basal diet, while the other groups (F1, F2 and F3 groups) were fed the basal diets supplemented with 1%, 2% and 3% FDRM, respectively. The experiment lasted for 49 days with ad libitum access to feed and water. Our results showed that supplementing FDRM in duck diet had no adverse effects on laying performance (P>0.05). Additionally, compared with the control group, dietary supplementation with FDRM significantly improved the shell strength, yolk color and shell proportion (P<0.05), while increasing the serum total protein (TP) content (P<0.05). The study also found that adding 2%. FDRM significantly enhanced the contents of total amino acids, essential amino acids and umami amino acids in eggs (P<0.05), improved the composition of monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (P<0.05), and reducing the saturated fatty acids content. However, 3% FDRM addition increased the serum blood urea nitrogen content (P<0.05), indicating reduced the dietary protein utilization efficiency. Overall, dietary supplementation with 2% FDRM might improved egg quality and egg nutritional value of Shanma laying ducks through improving the shell strength, yolk color and shell proportion, enhancing yolk fatty acid and amino acid profiles and elevating serum TP content.