Purple Sweet Potato Anthocyanins: Antioxidant Potential and Effects on Heat-Stressed Wenchang Chickens

The present study aimed to investigate the potential of purple sweet potato anthocyanins (PSPA) as antioxidants, based on their in vitro antioxidant activity and stability, which was positively correlated with concentration. In particular, this study aimed to explore the effects of different anthocyanin concentrations on growth performance, oxidative status, immune response, intestinal morphology, and intestinal flora homeostasis in heat-stressed Wenchang chickens. A total of 100 Wenchang chickens (21d) were randomly divided into five groups, including the thermoneutral environment (TN) group (26℃24h), high-temperature stressed (HS) group (33±1℃7hours), low-dose PSPA treatment (L_HS) group (8mg/kg body weight, 33±1℃7hours), medium-dose PSPA treatment (M_HS) group (16mg/kg body weight, 33±1℃7hours), and high-dose PSPA treatment (H_HS) group (32mg/kg body weight, 33±1℃7hours).