Yuemeng Fu’s research while affiliated with Shandong Agricultural University and other places

This experiment was performed to investigate the impacts of formic acid polymer (FAP) supplementation to the diet on the growth performance, blood metabolites, as well as intestinal barrier function related indicators of broilers under lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. A total of 450 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers with similar body weights were assigned to one of three experimental groups: control (CON) group, basal diet; LPS group, basal diet with LPS (1 mg/kg body weight) challenge; LPS+FAP group, basal diet supplemented with FAP (1,000 mg/kg) and LPS (1 mg/kg body weight) challenge. Each group had 6 replicates of 25 broilers. LPS was injected on days 17, 19, and 21. Samples were collected on day 21, 3 h post-challenge. The experiment lasted 21 days. LPS treatment reduced growth performance, immune function, and caused systemic inflammation, intestinal barrier damage, and microbiota dysbiosis in broilers. However, FAP supplementation significantly reversed these effects by reducing the feed-to-gain ratio and serum levels of interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α (P < 0.05), while increasing serum levels of complement C4, IL-10, and immunoglobulin M (P < 0.05). FAP also improved villus height, trefoil factor family, and mucin 2 levels, decreased caspase activities (P < 0.05), and reduced harmful bacteria while promoting beneficial bacteria. To sum up, supplementing 1,000 mg/kg of FAP to the diet effectively enhanced immune function, and mitigated the systemic inflammatory response and intestinal barrier damage caused by LPS, thereby improving broiler growth performance.

Introduction Previous studies have suggested that dietary organic iron offers health advantages compared to its inorganic counterpart. However, the effects of iron hydroxy methionine analog chelate (Fe-HMA) supplementation in weaned piglets have not been fully explored. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of replacing ferrous sulfate with Fe-HMA as the iron source on serum biochemistry, antioxidant capacity, and gut microbiota in weaned piglets. Methods One hundred and twenty weaned piglets were randomly allocated to two treatment groups. Each group contained four replicates, with 15 pigs per replicate. Piglets were fed either 100 mg Fe/kg in the form of ferrous sulfate (Fe-sulfate group) or 50 mg Fe/kg in the form of Fe-HMA (Fe-HMA group) as the iron source for 28 days. Results and discussion Results showed that supplementing Fe-HMA as an iron source significantly increased the levels of triglycerides and glucose in portal venous serum, albumin in both serum and portal venous serum and decreased serum low-density lipoprotein level in weaned piglets. Additionally, Fe-HMA supplementation significantly reduced serum and liver malondialdehyde levels, while increasing catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total superoxide dismutase, and manganese superoxide dismutase levels in serum, as well as GSH-Px and CAT levels in the liver. Moreover, Fe-HMA regulated the intestinal microbiota composition, notably increasing the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and decreasing microbes involved in aromatic_compound_degradation. In conclusion, dietary replacing inorganic iron with Fe-HMA improved metabolic parameters and antioxidant capacity, and regulated gut microbiota composition in weaned piglets.

A close interplay exists between the gut and liver, known as the "gut-liver axis", which plays a vital role in health and disease. This research aimed to explore the effects of dietary formic acid polymer (FAP) addition on inflammatory injury in gut-liver axis of broilers due to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Four hundred and fifty 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were assigned to three treatment groups: (1) control (non-challenged, basal diet); (2) LPS (LPS-challenged, basal diet); (3) LPS+FAP (LPS-challenged, basal diet with 1,000 mg/kg FAP). The trial lasted 21 days. On experimental days 17, 19, and 21, the LPS and LPS+FAP groups were intraperitoneally administered LPS (1 mg/kg BW), and the control group received an equal volume of physiological saline via intraperitoneal injection. Results showed that LPS injection induced inflammatory response, resulted in liver damage, and destroyed intestinal morphology and mucosal barrier. However, dietary FAP supplementation alleviated LPS-induced adverse effects on liver and small intestine by decreasing inflammatory response and suppressing cell death. In conclusion, supplementation of 1000 mg/kg FAP mitigated LPS-induced inflammatory injury in gut-liver axis in broilers.

Simple Summary In intensive farms, broilers are easily infected by harmful bacteria, resulting in intestinal damage and affecting their health. The prohibition of antibiotics makes it necessary to find new antibacterial products, especially native substances. As a kind of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese gallotannins (CGT) containing tannins have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and bactericidal effects. Therefore, in this experiment, we established a model of intestinal injury in broilers by intraperitoneal administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in Escherichia coli to explore the protective effect of CGT on intestinal injury in broilers induced by LPS challenge. The results show that CGT effectively alleviated intestinal mucosal injury and repaired the intestinal barrier effectively by repairing intestinal villus morphology, inhibiting apoptosis, decreasing pro-inflammatory factors, and stabilizing microbial ecology, thus raising the body weight to a normal level. A dietary supplementation of 300 mg/kg CGT might be a potential way to substitute antibiotics to attenuate intestinal injury induced by LPS in broilers. Abstract This experiment was conducted to study the protective effects of dietary Chinese gallotannins (CGT) supplementation against Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal injury in broilers. Four hundred and fifty healthy Arbor Acres broilers (one-day-old) were randomly divided into three groups: (1) basal diet (CON group), (2) basal diet with LPS challenge (LPS group), and (3) basal diet supplemented with 300 mg/kg CGT as well as LPS challenge (LPS+CGT group). The experiment lasted for 21 days. Intraperitoneal LPS injections were administered to broilers in the LPS group and the LPS+CGT group on days 17, 19, and 21 of the trial, whereas the CON group received an intraperitoneal injection of 0.9% physiological saline. Blood and intestinal mucosa samples were collected 3 h after the LPS challenge. The results showed that LPS administration induced intestinal inflammation and apoptosis and damaged small intestinal morphology and structure in broilers. However, dietary supplementation with CGT alleviated the deleterious effects on intestinal morphology and barrier integrity caused by the LPS challenge, while also reducing intestinal apoptosis and inflammation, enhancing intestinal antioxidant capacity, and increasing cecal microbial alpha diversity in the LPS-challenged broilers. Therefore, our findings demonstrated that a 300 mg/kg CGT addition could improve intestinal morphology and gut barrier structure, as well as maintaining bacterial homeostasis, in broilers exposed to LPS. This might partially be attributed to the reduced cell apoptosis, decreased inflammatory response, and enhanced antioxidant capacity in the small intestinal mucosa.