Dezirrê Raiane Costa, Filipe Monteiro, Gabriela Hernandes Cangianelli, Alexander Alexandre de Almeida, Jean Kaique Valentim, Angélica de Souza Khatlab, Rafael Reis de Rezende, Júlio César Polonio, Felipe Cichetti Mokwa, Arele Arlindo Calderano, Simone Eliza Facioni Guimarães, Maria Fernanda de Castro Burbarelli, Erika Rosendo de Sena Gandra, Rodrigo Garófallo Garcia, Eliane Gasparino
Regulatory restrictions on the use of antimicrobial growth promoters in poultry production have intensified the search for natural alternatives capable of sustaining productive performance and intestinal health in birds. This study assessed the effects of supplementation with pracaxi ( Pentaclethra macroloba ) and tucumã ( Astrocaryum aculeatum ) oils, compared with a probiotic and an antibiotic, on the productive performance and jejunal health of laying Japanese quail. Feed intake, egg production, egg mass production, feed conversion ratio, and 16 S rRNA gene microbial diversity were analyzed. Pracaxi oil resulted in higher total feed intake (1.69 ± 0.06 kg, P = 0.0024), daily feed intake (37.25 ± 1.73 g, P = 0.0004), egg production (39.63 ± 1.51, P = 0.0171), laying rate (94.33% ± 3.57%, P = 0.0203), egg mass production (11.50 ± 0.66 g, P = 0.0008), and the lowest feed conversion ratio (3.23 ± 0.17 g feed/g egg mass, P = 0.0384) compared with the other treatments. Tucumã oil reduced feed intake (32.31 ± 1.91 g) but maintained the laying rate at levels similar to that of the antibiotic group (80.23% ± 10.99% vs. 80.48% ± 14.92%, respectively). The probiotic group showed intermediate performance. Beta diversity differed significantly among treatments ( P < 0.05). Pracaxi supplementation was associated with an increase in fermentative bacteria and a higher relative abundance of Bacteroidetes . By contrast, tucumã oil reduced alpha diversity and led to greater dispersion in non-metric multidimensional scaling plots, indicating a modulatory effect dependent on individual initial microbiota. The antibiotic agent reduced the structural complexity of the microbial community. Overall, the results indicated that Amazonian oils act through distinct mechanisms in the jejunum of birds. Pracaxi oil appears to promote fermentative modulation and improved productive performance, whereas tucumã oil is more closely associated with redox stability and functional maintenance of the gut microbiota.