Effect of diet supplemented with enzymatically treated Artemisia annua L. on intestinal digestive function and immunity in weaned pigs

Effects of water extracts of Artemisia annua L. on rumen immune and antioxidative indexes, fermentation parameters and microbials diversity in lambs

The present study investigated the effects of water extracts of Artemisia annua L. (WEAA) on rumen immune and antioxidative indexes, fermentation parameters and microbial diversity in lambs. A total of 32 3-month-old Dorper × Han female lambs having comparable body weights (24±0.09 kg) were selected and were randomly assigned to four treatments, with eight repetitions for each treatment. The basal diet, consisting of 45% concentrate and 55% forage, was solely provided to the control group. For the other treatment groups, the basal diet was supplemented with WEAA at dosages of 500, 1000, and 1500 mg/kg diet, respectively. Rumen tissue samples were collected for the analysis of immune and antioxidative parameters, as well as related gene expression. Rumen fluid samples were collected to assess rumen fermentation parameters on days 30 and 60 and to evaluate the microbiota on day 60. Results showed that WEAA supplementation linearly or quadratically increased the content of sIgA, IL-4, IL-2 and the gene expression level of MyD88, IκB-α, IL-4, COX-2, iNOS in rumen tissue (p < 0.05), as well as the bacteria negatively associated with IL-6 (g_ [Eubacterium] _cellulosolvens_group). Furthermore, the addition of WEAA linearly or quadratically increased rumen T-SOD, GSH-Px (p < 0.05) and the gene expression level of Nrf2, SOD2, GSH-Px, HO-1 (p < 0.05), and decreased the rumen concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) and gene expression level of Keap1 (p < 0.05), as well as the bacteria positively associated with T-AOC, T-SOD and GSH-Px (g_Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, g_Saccharofermentans, g__Marvinbryantia, g_unclassified_f_Eggerthellaceae). The supplementation of WEAA caused the concentration of microprotein (MCP), total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), propionate to increase either linearly or quadratically, while reducing the concentration of NH3-N and the acetate/propionate ratio (A:P) in rumen fluid (p < 0.05). The addition of WEAA linearly or quadratically increased the abundance of Actinobacteriota, Cyanobacteria and Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group (p < 0.10), and g__Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, g_Saccharofermentans, g_Marvinbryantia, g_Bifidobacterium were significantly abundant as specific microflora in the 1000 mg/kg WEAA supplementation group. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of 1000 mg/kg WEAA improved the rumen immune function, antioxidant status, rumen fermentation, and composition of rumen microbes in lambs.

The effects of Artemisia annua nutritional supplementation at varying concentrations on broiler growth, economic yield, and gene expression levels of certain antioxidant, inflammatory, and immune genes

Background and Aim

Artemisia annua (AA), used as a growth promoter in poultry, lowers feed costs and enhances economic efficiency. This study aimed to assess the impact of varying AA concentrations on broiler chicken growth, gene expression, and profitability.

Materials and Methods

Two hundred 1-day-old male Cobb chicks were randomly allocated into four treatment groups, each containing five replicates and 10 birds. The experimental groups consisted of G1 (basal diet), G2 (basal diet with 0.3% AA), G3 (basal diet with 0.6% AA), and G4 (basal diet with 0.9% AA). The birds had continuous access to feed and water throughout the study. The experiment lasted for 42 days. We measured the growth performance (Feed intake, Life weight), carcass traits (weight after slaughter, dressed carcass, heart, gizzard, spleen, giblet and thymus weight), liver and spleen antioxidants (CAT, GSH, SOD), and gene expression of anti-inflammatory and immune- related genes.

Results

The primary findings revealed that the addition of 0.6% AA had a positive impact (p < 0.05) on all investigated variables compared with the control and other groups. Dietary supplementation with 0.6% AA led to increased breast, giblet, skeleton, and total yield, and net return compared with the control group. Supplementation with AA exhibited antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunological effects through improved levels of antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in tissue homogenates of the liver and spleen. It also upregulated the relative messenger RNA levels of anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10, SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px, whereas IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were downregulated.

Conclusion

The study found that AA is a promising replacement for antibiotics in poultry farming as a growth promoter for chickens. 0.6% AA in the broiler diet yielded the best results, striking a balance between superior performance and robust economic benefits.

Effects of dietary Artemisia annua supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune function, and gut microbiota of geese

This experiment aimed to study the effect of 1% Artemisia annua added to the diet on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immunity and intestinal morphology, and gut microbiota of geese. Seventy-two 35-day-old male geese (Zi goose) with similar body weight were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups. Each treatment group of 36 geese was divided into 6 subgroups, each having 6 male geese. The experiment lasted for 21 d. Control group (CON) was fed a basal diet and the experimental group (AAL) was fed a basal diet + 1% Artemisia annua. BW, ADG, and ADFI of the AAL group increased (p < 0.05) and the FCR decreased (p < 0.05) compared with the CON group. The addition of Artemisia annua to the diet increased catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activities, increased total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content in serum and jejunum of geese (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, serum IgA, IgG, IgM, and lysozyme (LZM), increased at different time points in the AAL group compared to the CON group (p < 0.05), and decrease in the content of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) , IL-6 (p < 0.05), but no effect on complement C3 and C4. Morphological observation of the small intestine showed that the jejunal crypt depth was decreased in the AAL group (p < 0.05) while elevating the jejunal villus height/crypt depth (p < 0.05). 16S rRNA sequencing results showed the Artemisia annua increased the diversity of cecum microbiota, increasing the relative abundance of Bacteroides, Fecalibacterium, and Paraprevotella. In conclusion, the addition of 1% Artemisia annua to the diet could improve the growth performance, antioxidant and immune ability of geese, as well as improve the development of the jejunum intestinal tract of geese, and change the structure of the cecum microbiota, which had a positive effect on the growth and development of geese. Artemisia annua can be further developed as a feed additive.

Effects of Artemisia annua L. Water Extract on Growth Performance and Intestinal Related Indicators in Broilers

Artemisia annua L. is a natural herb with a variety of bioactive substances, which can play a variety of biological functions such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral, and can be used as a potential feed additive. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different doses of Artemisia annua L. water extract (AAWE) on growth performance and intestinal related indicators in broilers. A total of 200 one-day-old Arbor Acre broilers were selected and randomly divided into five treatment groups, with five replicates in each group and eight birds per replicate. The control group was fed a basal diet, whereas the other groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 g/kg AAWE. On d 21, with the increase in AAWE dose, final body weight and feed efficiency showed a quadratic increase effect, whereas feed intake showed a linear reduction effect; however, the apparent metabolic rate of dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract increased quadratically on d 42. In addition, the activity of duodenal chymotrypsin and trypsin, and of jejunal lipase quadratically increased, whereas the intestine crypt depth linearly decreased on d 42. The number of total anaerobic bacteria increased quadratically, whereas the number of Escherichia coli decreased quadratically. The number of Lactobacillus increased linearly, whereas H2S emission linearly decreased on d 21; moreover, NH3 emission (24 h) quadratically decreased on d 42. In conclusion, AAWE promoted the growth performance and intestinal related indicators of broilers.

Dietary artemisinin boosts intestinal immunity and healthy in fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)

Introduction

Artemisinin (ART) is very common as a diet additive due to its immunoregulatory activities. Nonetheless, the immunoregulatory mechanism of ART in marine fish remains unknown. This study comprehensively examined the effects and explored the potential mechanism of ART ameliorating intestinal immune disease (IID) in fat greenlings (Hexagrammos otakii).

Methods and results

The targets of ART were screened using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database. Here, eight putative targets of ART were collected and identified with the Uniprot database, and 1419 IID-associated target proteins were filtered through the Drugbank, Genecards, OMIM, and PHARMGKB Databases. The results of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways point out that ART may have immunoprotective effects by regulating cellular responses to stress, hypoxia, inflammation, and vascular endothelial growth factor stimulus through the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway. The findings of molecular docking indicated that ART contains one active ingredient and three cross-targets, which showed a kind combination with hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1-a), transcription factor p65 (RELA), and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), respectively. Furthermore, an ART feeding model was established to assess the ART's immunoprotect effect on the intestine of H.otakii in vivo. The D48 group showed smaller intestinal structural changes after being challenged by Edwardsiella tarda. The supplementation of ART to the diet improved total superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) in intestine of H. otakii. The expression of transcription factor p65, HIF1-α, VEGF-A, cyclin D1, matrix metalloprotease 9 (MMP9), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was decreased after dietary ART in the intestinal of H. otakii.

Discussion

The present results demonstrated that dietary ART improved antioxidants and immunity, optimized the intestinal structure, and increased resistance to E. tarda through the SOD2/nuclear-factor-kappa- B (NFkB)/HIF1-a/VEGF-A pathway in the intestinal tract of H.otakii. This study integrated pharmacological analysis and experimental validation and revealed the mechanism of ART on IID, which provides insight into the improvement of IID in H. otakii.

Artemisia annua L. Aqueous Extract Promotes Intestine Immunity and Antioxidant Function in Broilers

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Artemisia annua L. aqueous extract (AAE) on intestinal immune and antioxidative function of broilers. A total of 200 one-day-old Arbor Acre broilers were randomly allotted into five dietary treatment groups, with five replicates per treatment and eight broilers per replicate. The five treatment diets were formulated by adding, respectively, 0 (control group), 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 g/kg AAE in the basal diet. The results showed that dietary inclusion of AAE quadratically decreased interleukin (IL)-1β content, linearly decreased IL-6 content in the small intestine through regulating the nuclear factor-kappa B signal pathway, and quadratically increased immunoglobulin (Ig)M and sIgA content in ileum and jejunum. Besides, there was a quadratic decrease in the gene expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) in ileum on day 21, and the gene expression of IL-6 and TLR4 in duodenum on day 42, thereby improving small intestinal immune function in broilers. Additionally, dietary inclusion of AAE improves antioxidative function through the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signal pathway in the small intestinal mucosa of broilers, especially, quadratically increased catalase (CAT) and superoxidase dismutase activity in ileum, and total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase activity in duodenum, and quadratically decreased malondialdehyde concentration in ileum, besides, linearly increased heme oxygenase-1 and Nrf2 gene expression in jejunum and ileum on day 42, quadratically increased CAT gene expression in the small intestine. Furthermore, regression analyses of the above parameters showed that the optimal dose range of AAE in the diet of broilers was 1.12-1.38 g/kg.

Dietary Supplementation of Enzymatically Treated Artemisia annua L. Improves Lactation Performance, Alleviates Inflammatory Response of Sows Reared Under Heat Stress, and Promotes Gut Development in Preweaning Offspring

Artemisia annua L., which is known for its antimalarial compound artemisinin, has commonly been used for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial functions. Enzymatically treating Artemisia annua L. can improve its bioavailability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary enzymatically treated Artemisia annua L. (EA) supplementation in late gestation and lactation diets on sow performance, serum hormone, inflammatory cytokines, and immunoglobulin level of heat-stressed sows. A total of 135 multiparous sows (Large White × Landrace) on day 85 of gestation were selected and randomly distributed into 3 groups with 45 replicates per group. The control group was reared under standard conditions (temperature: 27.12 ± 0.18°C, THI (temperature-humidity index): 70.90 ± 0.80) and fed with basal diet. The heat stress (HS) and HS + EA groups were raised in heat-stressed conditions (temperature: 30.11 ± 0.16°C, THI: 72.70 ± 0.60) and fed with basal diets supplemented with 0 or 1.0 g/kg EA, respectively. This trial lasted for 50 consecutive days until day 21 of lactation. Compared with the control group, HS increased the concentrations of serum endotoxin and heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70), and inflammatory cytokines in serum, colostrum, and 14 day milk of sows. Meanwhile, the EA supplementation decreased levels of serum endotoxin, HSP-70, and inflammatory cytokines in both sows and offspring and increased serum triiodothyronine (T₃) level and average daily feed intake (ADFI) of sows. In addition, EA significantly improved average daily gain (ADG) and altered intestinal morphology with an increased villus height in the duodenum and ileum of piglets. Collectively, EA supplementation at 1.0 g/kg in late gestation and lactation diets alleviated the adverse effects of HS, which were reflected by enhancing ADFI and decreasing endotoxin as well as inflammatory cytokine levels in the serum and colostrum of heat-stressed sows, while promoting ADG and gut development of their offspring.

Maternal Supplementation with Artemisia annua L. Ameliorates Intestinal Inflammation via Inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB and MAPK Pathways and Improves Oxidative Stability of Offspring

Artemisia annua L. (A. annua) contains artemisinin, which attracts attention on account of its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. The increased intestinal inflammation, oxidative stress, and hypoimmunity commonly occur in the...