Animal Microbiome · Jul 27, 2026

Multi-omics insights into the role of microencapsulated sodium butyrate on production performance in aged quails

By Xu Y, Li S, Guo L et al.

This study investigated the effects of microencapsulated sodium butyrate (MSB) on production performance, reproductive hormone profiles, and gut microbiota-metabolite interactions in late-laying quails. Dietary MSB supplementation significantly increased laying rate and early egg weight and elevated serum FSH and LH concentrations, suggesting a potential involvement of reproductive endocrine regulation. MSB enhanced gut microbial richness and enriched fiber-fermenting, SCFA-associated taxa such as Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae and Bacteroides, while co-occurrence network analysis revealed increased connectivity and robustness of the microbial community. Untargeted metabolomics showed coordinated changes in amino acid derivatives, short peptides and lipid-like molecules. Exploratory mediation analysis further suggested that specific metabolites may be involved in the associations between MSB-responsive bacteria and host reproductive traits. Specifically, the dipeptide Pro-Trp and N-arachidonoyl phenylalanine were potentially associated with the relationship between decreased s__uncultured_bacterium_o__RF39 and improved laying rate, whereas N-docosahexaenoyl tryptophan appeared to link increased s__unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae to higher FSH concentrations. These findings indicate that MSB may improve reproductive performance in aging quails by reshaping the gut microbiota and its metabolite outputs in a manner that supports reproductive endocrine function. Overall, this study provides novel insights supporting the use of microencapsulated sodium butyrate as a functional feed additive for extending the productive lifespan of laying quails.

doi.org/10.1186/s42523-026-00590-5Open accessPubMed 42947196Interventions