Dietary soya saponin improves the lipid metabolism and intestinal health of laying hens

Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri Postbiotics on Growth Performance, Intestinal Flora Structure and Plasma Metabolome of Weaned Piglets

Probiotics and their postbiotics have the potential to improve the health and growth performance of piglets, which has brought them widespread attention in the post-antibiotic era. In the present study, the effects of dietary supplementation of Lactobacillus reuteri postbiotics on the growth performance, intestinal flora structure and plasma metabolome of weaned piglets were investigated. A total of 816 healthy male piglets with uniform weight were divided into two treatment groups: piglets in the control (CTR) group were fed with a basic diet, and the ones in the LAC group were fed with the basic diet supplemented with 500 mg/kg Lactobacillus reuteri postbiotics. There were six replicates in each group and 68 piglets in each replicate. The animal trial lasted for 30 days. The feces and blood of piglets were collected for investigation, and the growth performance during the trial was counted. Our outcomes show that dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri postbiotics had no effect on the growth performance of piglets; however, it reduced the mortality rate of piglets by 6.37%. The levels of total superoxide dismutase in the serum, propionic acid and butyric acid in the feces were elevated, and the content of malondialdehyde in the serum was decreased with Lactobacillus reuteri postbiotics-treated piglets (p < 0.05). The fecal flora sequencing results show that the relative abundance of Firmicutes and monoglobus was upregulated, and the relative abundance of Bacteroides was downregulated with Lactobacillus reuteri postbiotics-treated piglets (p < 0.05). In addition, the levels of propionic acid and butyric acid in the feces were positively correlated with the relative abundance of Firmicutes and negatively correlated with the relative abundance of Bacteroides (p < 0.05). The plasma metabolome results show that dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri postbiotics raised the level of coenzyme Q10 in the serum, and the abundance of coenzyme Q10 was positively correlated with the relative abundance of Firmicutes and the level of total superoxide dismutase in the serum. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri postbiotics contributed to improving the antioxidant function and reducing the mortality of piglets by regulating the structure of intestinal flora and upregulating the content of coenzyme Q10 in serum.

Enhancing impact of dietary nano formulated quercetin on laying performance: egg quality, oxidative stability of stored eggs, intestinal immune and antioxidants related genes expression

BACKGROUND

Nutritional interventions with natural antioxidants can provide a pragmatic solution for modifying hens' performance and maintaining oxidative stability of eggs during storage. Quercetin is the most abundant flavonoids with potent antioxidant and immune stimulant activities. The concept of incorporating of quercetin, as potent antioxidant and immunostimulant, into effective nano-carriers (QNPs) has promoted their bioavailability and stability thus, their effectiveness for the first time were assessed on laying hens' performance and immunity, eggs quality during storage. Four hundred 12-weeks-old Hy-line brown laying hens were distributed to four experimental groups: control group fed basal diets, and other 3 groups fed basal diets fortified with 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg QNPs for 60 weeks.

RESULTS

Laying performance and quality of laid eggs were improved as expressed by elevated laying rate, egg mass %, eggs weight and yolk weight in QNPs200 and 300. Fortification of QNPs300 remarkably decreased layers serum total cholesterol concurrently with decreased egg yolk saturated fatty acids and cholesterol while increased polyunsaturated fatty acids. Over- 45 days storage period, QNPs enhanced phospholipids, total phenolics and flavonoids, total antioxidant activity (T-AOC) simultaneous with decreased MDA content in eggs. Furthermore, enhanced immune response was detected in both in serum and intestine of QNPs fed hens as reflected by higher lysozymes activity, IgM, IgG and phagocytic index and demotion of NO together with AvBD 6-12, IL-10, IgM and ATg 5-7-12 upregulation and downregulation of IL-1β and TNF-α especially at QNPs200 and 300. Intestinal redox balance was modified via decreasing H2O2 and MDA simultaneous with upregulation of catalase, SOD, GSH-Px, HO-1 and NQO1 in groups fed higher doses of QNPs.

CONCLUSIONS

QNPs supplementation provides a new nutritional strategy towards increasing hen performance, fortification of eggs with natural antioxidants that prevents egg quality deterioration during storage.

Immunomodulatory potential of dietary soybean-derived saponins

Soybeans are widely recognized as a valuable crop, often included as a high-quality protein source in production animal diets. In addition to contributing to the macronutrient composition of the diet, soybeans also contain many minor bioactive components which can influence the health and growth of animals. This review examined the immunomodulatory potential of soy saponins and their specific effects on the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and intestinal barrier function. Saponins are amphiphilic molecules, a property imparted by their polar carbohydrate chains that attach to a nonpolar aglycone backbone. This structure also complicates their isolation, thus most research investigating soy saponins has been performed in models that only require small amounts of isolated material. Many experiments conducted in vitro or in rodents reported that saponins can reduce damage, particularly in conditions where a challenge was first introduced to stimulate inflammation or oxidative stress. It appears that saponins can exert their anti-inflammatory effects through modulation of the NF-κB pathway, reducing its activation and the release of pro-inflammatory molecules later in the cascade. Furthermore, soy saponins can influence levels of important anti-oxidative enzymes and reduce the generation of reactive oxygen species, thus attenuating levels of oxidative stress in the model. As these results were obtained from experiments done in vitro or in rodents, they neglect to provide a good representation of how soy saponins may affect some of the greatest consumers of soy-based products, with those being production animals. The work that has been done seems to indicate that soy saponins may exert similar anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects in production animals as those observed in other research models along with immunostimulatory activity that may help boost host defense systems. Overall, there is a dearth of research regarding the effects of soy saponins on species that commonly consume soy products, which begins by developing more effective methods of saponin extraction.

Effects of quercetin and daidzein on egg quality, lipid metabolism, and cecal short-chain fatty acids in layers

In this study, the effects of quercetin and daidzein on egg quality, lipid metabolism, and cecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were compared in layers. Hyline brown layers at 385 days of age with a similar laying rate (81.36% ± 0.62%) and body weight (2.10 kg ± 0.04 kg) were randomly divided into three treatments, six replicates per treatment, and 20 layers per replicate. Layers in control, quercetin, and daidzein treatment were fed by a basal diet supplemented with 0 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg quercetin, and 30 mg/kg of daidzein for 10 weeks. Results showed that eggshell strength and albumen height in week 4, egg yolk diameter in week 10, and eggshell thickness and egg yolk height in weeks 4 and 10 were significantly increased in the quercetin treatment (P ≤ 0.05); contents of phospholipid (PL) and lecithin (LEC) in egg yolk and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) content in serum were significantly increased; however, contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG) in egg yolk, contents of TC, TG, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) in serum, and contents of TC and TG in the liver were significantly decreased in the quercetin treatment (P ≤ 0.05); contents of isobutyric acid and valeric acid were significantly increased in the cecum of the quercetin treatment (P ≤ 0.05), compared with control. Moreover, egg yolk height in week 10 and eggshell thickness in weeks 4 and 10 were significantly increased in the daidzein treatment (P ≤ 0.05); contents of MDA, TC, and TG in egg yolk, TC, TG, and VLDL in serum, and TC and TG in liver were significantly decreased in the daidzein treatment (P ≤ 0.05); and HDL content was significantly increased in serum of the daidzein treatment (P ≤ 0.05) compared with control. However, daidzein did not affect SCFA content in the cecum. In conclusion, egg quality was improved by quercetin and daidzein by increasing the antioxidant ability of egg yolk and by regulating lipid metabolism in layers. Quercetin worked better than daidzein in improving egg quality under this experimental condition.

Effects of Dietary Supplemental Chlorogenic Acid and Baicalin on the Growth Performance and Immunity of Broilers Challenged with Lipopolysaccharide

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplemental chlorogenic acid and baicalin (CAB) on the growth performance and immunity of broilers challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This study was designed as a factorial arrangement of 2 dietary CAB treatments × 2 LPS treatments. Birds challenged with or without LPS were fed with a basic diet (CON) and (LPS), the level of CAB diet containing 500 mg/kg CAB(CAB) and (CAB + LPS). The feeding trial lasted for 42 days. Results showed that there was a negative effect on average daily weight gain (ADG) and average body weight of broilers during the animal trial with LPS challenge. The levels of diamine oxidase (DAO), lysozyme (LYZ), immunoglobulin G (IgG), and IgA in the serum, the contents of IL-1β and TNF-α in the spleen were elevated with LPS treated. Additionally, LPS treatment tended to reduce the jejunal villi height (VH) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) in the serum. Dietary supplemental 500 mg/kg CAB increased the body weight and ADG and improved the feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the trial period. In addition, dietary 500 mg/kg CAB elevated the ratio of VH to crypt depth in the jejunum and reduced the content of protein carbonyl. Beyond that, the levels of IgG and IgA in the serum and transforming growth factor (TGF-β) in the spleen were up-regulated with 500 mg/kg CAB supplementation. In conclusion, dietary CAB was beneficial for growth performance and immunity of broilers challenged with lipopolysaccharide.

Health benefits of saponins and its mechanisms: perspectives from absorption, metabolism, and interaction with gut

Saponins, consisting of sapogenins as their aglycones and carbohydrate chains, are widely found in plants and some marine organisms. Due to the complexity of the structure of saponins, involving different types of sapogenins and sugar moieties, investigation of their absorption and metabolism is limited, which further hinders the explanation of their bioactivities. Large molecular weight and complex structures limit the direct absorption of saponins rendering their low bioavailability. As such, their major modes of action may be due to interaction with the gastrointestinal environment, such as enzymes and nutrients, and interaction with the gut microbiota. Many studies have reported the interaction between saponins and gut microbiota, that is, the effects of saponins on changing the composition of gut microbiota, and gut microbiota playing an indispensable role in the biotransformation of saponins into sapogenins. However, the metabolic routes of saponins by gut microbiota and their mutual interactions are still sparse. Thus, this review summarizes the chemistry, absorption, and metabolic pathways of saponins, as well as their interactions with gut microbiota and impacts on gut health, to better understand how saponins exert their health-promoting functions.

Dietary Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus paracasei improve the intestinal health of broilers challenged with coccidia and Clostridium perfringens

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a great threat to the intestinal health of broilers, resulting in decreased growth performance and significant economic losses. Lactobacillus fermentum (LF) and Lactobacillus paracasei (LP) exert beneficial effects on intestinal health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of dietary LF and LP on the intestinal health and growth performance of broilers challenged with coccidia and Clostridium perfringens (CCP). The animal trial was carried out using 336 broilers (Ross 308) for 35 days with a completely randomized design. The broilers were divided into 4 groups based on treatment as follows: the control (CTR) group was fed the basal diet and without CCP challenge and the CCP group was fed the basal diet and with CCP challenge. The broilers in the CCP+LF and CCP+LP groups were challenged by CCP, and meanwhile, LF (1 × 10⁹ CFU/g) and LP (1 × 10⁹ CFU/g) were supplemented into the basal diets, respectively. The results showed that the growth performance and the intestinal morphology were negatively affected by the CCP challenge. In addition, the number of coccidia in the intestinal digesta and the relative abundance of Escherichia coli in the cecal digesta were increased. Besides, the mRNA level of IgA in the jejunum was downregulated, and the transcript level of IL-8 was upregulated by the CCP challenge. Dietary LF and LP failed to improve the growth performance of broilers with the CCP challenge. However, they were beneficial for intestinal barrier function. In addition, dietary LF was able to alleviate the downregulation of TGF-β mRNA level in the spleen with CCP challenge and decreased the lesion scores compared with the CCP group. Furthermore, dietary LP alleviated the upregulation of the IL-8 mRNA level in the jejunum with CCP challenge and reduced the number of coccidia in the ileal digesta. In conclusion, dietary LF and LP failed to mitigate the negative effects of CCP infection on growth performance; however, they were able to improve the intestinal health of broilers challenged with CCP by strengthening the intestinal barrier and alleviating inflammation.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Vitamin A on Antioxidant and Intestinal Barrier Function of Broilers Co-Infected with Coccidia and Clostridium perfringens

Necrotic enteritis (NE) impairs poultry production and causes great economic loss. The nutritional regulation of diets has the potential to alleviate NE. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with vitamin A (VA) on the antioxidant and intestinal barrier function of broilers co-infected with coccidia and C. perfringens (CCP). In a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, 336 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were divided into four treatments with two levels of VA (0 or 12,000 IU/kg) and challenged with or without CCP. The animal trial lasted for 42 days. The results showed that dietary supplemental VA improved body weight gain (BWG) and the feed intake (FI), and the FI was negatively affected by CCP. Additionally, the levels of catalase (CAT) in the serum, total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), and CAT in the jejunum and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the liver decreased with the CCP challenge (p < 0.05). The mRNA levels of SOD, CAT, GSH-Px1, and GSH-Px3 in the liver and jejunum were upregulated by the CCP challenge (p < 0.05). In addition, the level of serum diamine oxidase (DAO), and the mRNA level of ZO-1 were also upregulated with the CCP challenge. Dietary supplementation with VA contributed to the intestinal villi height and the mRNA level of Mucin-2 in the jejunum (p < 0.05). Additionally, dietary VA had the ability to alleviate the upregulation of SOD in the liver and SOD, CAT, GSH-Px1, GSH-Px3, ZO-1, and claudin-1 in the jejunum with the CCP challenge (p < 0.05). However, the mRNA level of GSH-Px3 and the levels of SOD in the liver and jejunum were downregulated with the VA supplementation in the diet. In conclusion, dietary VA improved the growth performance and the intestinal barrier function; nonetheless, it failed to alleviate the negative effects of CCP on the antioxidant function in broilers.

The Molecular Mechanism of Hepatic Lipid Metabolism Disorder Caused by NaAsO2 through Regulating the ERK/PPAR Signaling Pathway

Chronic arsenic exposure is a risk factor for human fatty liver disease, and the ERK signaling pathway plays an important role in the regulation of liver lipid metabolism. However, whether ERK plays a role in the progression of arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorder and the specific mechanism remain unclear. Here, by constructing a rat model of liver lipid metabolism disorder induced by chronic arsenic exposure, we demonstrated that ERK might regulate arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorders through the PPAR signaling pathway. Arsenic could upregulate the expression of PPARγ and CD36 in the rat liver, decrease the expression of PPARα and CPT-1 in the rat liver, increase the organ coefficient of the rat liver, decrease the content of TG in rat serum, and promote fat deposition in the rat liver. In the arsenic-induced rat model of hepatic lipid metabolism disorder, we found that the expression of p-ERK was increased. In order to further explore whether the ERK signaling pathway was involved in arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorder, we exposed L-02 cells to different arsenic concentrations, and the results showed that arsenic significantly increased the expression of P-ERK in L-02 cells in a dose-dependent manner. We further treated L-02 cells with ERK inhibitors and found that the expression of TG, PPARα, and CPT-1 in L-02 cells increased, while the expression of P-ERK, PPARγ, and CD36 decreased. In conclusion, ERK may be involved in arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorder by regulating the PPAR signaling pathway. These findings are expected to provide a new targeting strategy for arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorder.