Dietary lactoferrin supplementation enhances immune function, improves intestinal integrity and reshapes gut microbiota in kittens

Twenty-four healthy kittens aged 5-10 months were randomly divided into three groups (8 kittens per group). They were fed a basal diet or basal diets supplemented with 500 or 1000 mg/kg lactoferrin, respectively, for a 42-day trial period. Serum samples were collected on days 21 and 42 for serum biochemistry and analysis of a broad range of metabolites without predefined targets, while fecal samples were collected on day 42 for sequencing analysis of all microbial genomes in the samples.