Dietary sophorolipid accelerates growth by modulation of gut microbiota population and intestinal environments in broiler chickens

Comparison study between single enzyme and multienzyme complex in distiller's dred grains with soluble supplemented diet in broiler chicken

Upregulation of the nutritional value of feed is the major target of various studies in the livestock industry, and dietary enzyme supplementation could aid in digesting the nondegrading nutrients of grains in feed ingredients. Dried distillers' grains with solubles (DDGS) is a byproduct of the fermentation process in the beverage industry and can be used as a large supply source of fiber in feed. Therefore, we conducted an experiment with male broiler chickens to investigate the effect of various types of enzymes on DDGS and compare the efficacy of single enzyme and multienzyme complexes on growth performance and gut environments in broiler chickens. We used 420 1-day-old broiler chickens (Ross 308), and they were allotted into 4 dietary treatments with seven replications (CON, corn-soybean meal [SBM] diet; NC, DDGS supplemented diet; SE, 0.05 % of mannanase supplemented DDGS-based diet; MC, 0.10% of multienzyme complex (mannanase and xylanase, glucanase) supplemented DDGS-based diet. The dietary exogenous enzyme in the DDGS-supplemented diet could improve growth performance as much as the growth of the control group, and digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and gross energy were significantly increased by enzyme addition in groups of chicks fed DDGS-supplementation diet. Moreover, the populations of pathogenic bacteria, coliforms, and Bacteroidetes were significantly decreased by enzyme supplementation, which might lead to improved gut mucus-secreting cells and inflammatory cytokines in the jejunum. Collectively, dietary single enzyme and multienzyme complexes could improve gut environments, including intestinal immune responses and gut microbial population, and lead to improvement of growth performance in broiler chickens.

Sustainable biosurfactant production from secondary feedstock-recent advances, process optimization and perspectives

Biosurfactants have garnered increased attention lately due to their superiority of their properties over fossil-derived counterparts. While the cost of production remains a significant hurdle to surpass synthetic surfactants, biosurfactants have been anticipated to gain a larger market share in the coming decades. Among these, glycolipids, a type of low-molecular-weight biosurfactant, stand out for their efficacy in reducing surface and interfacial tension, which made them highly sought-after for various surfactant-related applications. Glycolipids are composed of hydrophilic carbohydrate moieties linked to hydrophobic fatty acid chains through ester bonds that mainly include rhamnolipids, trehalose lipids, sophorolipids, and mannosylerythritol lipids. This review highlights the current landscape of glycolipids and covers specific glycolipid productivity and the diverse range of products found in the global market. Applications such as bioremediation, food processing, petroleum refining, biomedical uses, and increasing agriculture output have been discussed. Additionally, the latest advancements in production cost reduction for glycolipid and the challenges of utilizing second-generation feedstocks for sustainable production are also thoroughly examined. Overall, this review proposes a balance between environmental advantages, economic viability, and societal benefits through the optimized integration of secondary feedstocks in biosurfactant production.

Review: Effect of Experimental Diets on the Microbiome of Productive Animals

The microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract are responsible for multiple chains of reactions that affect their environment and modify the internal metabolism, their study receives the name of microbiome, which has become more relevant in recent years. In the near future, the challenges related to feeding are anticipated to escalate, encompassing the nutritional needs to sustain an overpopulated world. Therefore, it is expected that a better understanding of the interactions between microorganisms within the digestive tract will allow their modulation in order to provide an improvement in the immune system, feed efficiency or the promotion of nutritional characteristics in production animals, among others. In the present study, the main effects of experimental diets in production animals were described, emphasizing the diversity of the bacterial populations found in response to the diets, ordering them between polygastric and monogastric animals, and then describing the experimental diets used and their effect on the microorganisms. It is hoped that this study will help as a first general approach to the study of the role of the microbiome in production animals under different diets.

Sophorolipids produced by Yarrowia lipolytica grown on Moringa oleifera oil cake protect against acetic acid-induced colitis in rats: impact on TLR-4/p-JNK/NFκB-p65 pathway

OBJECTIVES

Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) activation plays a major role in triggering oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation implicated in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). Due to sophorolipids (SLs) antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, they are interestingly becoming more valued for their potential effectiveness in treating a variety of diseases. This study was designed to explore the effect of SLs produced by microbial conversion of Moringa oleifera oil cake using isolated yeast Yarrowia lipolytica against UC induced by acetic acid (AA) in rats.

METHODS

The produced SLs were identified by FTIR, 1H NMR and LC-MS/MS spectra, and administered orally for 7 days (200 mg/kg/day) before AA (2 ml, 4% v/v) to induce UC intrarectally on day eight. Biochemically, the levels of TLR-4, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), nuclear factor kappa B-p65 (NFκB-p65), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), malondialdehyd, glutathione, Bax/Bcl2 ratio and the immunohistochemical evaluation of inducible nitric oxide synthase and caspase-3 were assayed.

KEY FINDINGS

SLs significantly reduced OS, inflammatory and apoptotic markers in AA-treated rats, almost like the reference sulfasalazine.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided a novel impact for SLs produced by microbial conversion of M. oleifera oil cake against AA-induced UC in rats through hampering the TLR-4/p-JNK/NFκB-p65 signalling pathway.

Effects of dog ownership on the gut microbiota of elderly owners

Dog owners are usually in close contact with dogs. Whether dogs can affect the gut microbiota of elderly dog owners is worth studying. Data from 54 elderly (over 65 years of age) dog owners were screened from the American Gut Project. Owning a dog did not affect the α-diversity of the gut microbiota of the dog owner. Dog ownership significantly modulated the composition of the gut microbiota of the dog owner. The abundance of Actinobacteria was significantly increased. The abundances of Bifidobacteriaceae and Ruminococcaceae were significantly increased, while the abundance of Moracellaceae was significantly suppressed. In general, dog ownership can regulate the composition of gut microbiota and has a more significant effect on elderly males.

Dietary effects of sophorolipids on nutrient bioavailability and intestinal microenvironments in broiler chickens

Using antibiotics as growth promoter has been banned in poultry feed industry, thus various researchers try to seek an alternative to replace the growth-promoting antibiotics. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the growth performance via intestinal nutrient utilization and cecal microbial composition of broiler after dietary supplementation with most commonly using antibiotics, zinc bacitracin, and sophorolipid. A total of 180 1-day-old chicks were randomly assigned, and dietary treatment was as follow: CON, basal diet; ZB, 100 ppm of zinc bacitracin supplemented diet; and SPL, 250 ppm of sophorolipid supplemented diet. Their growth performance was evaluated and the samples of blood, small intestine, and ileal and cecal digesta were collected for biochemical, histological, and genomic analyses. The body weight and average daily gain of 7-day-old chicks were higher in ZB and those in overall experimental period were improved by ZB and SPL supplementation (p < 0.05). Their intestinal characteristics were not affected by dietary treatments in duodenum and ileum. Nonetheless, villus height was increased by SPL supplementation in jejunum (p < 0.05). Moreover, dietary SPL supplementation could down-regulate the expression level of pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-1β (p < 0.05). mRNA levels of lipid and protein transporters did not differ among the treatments, however, relative expression levels of carbohydrate transporters, GLUT2 and SGLT1 were increased in broiler chicken's jejumum fed zinc bacitracin and sophorolipid supplemented diets (p < 0.05). Dietary zinc bacitracin supplementation could increase the population of Firmicutes in phylum level, and the portion of Turiciacter in genus level. On the other hands, the portion of Faecalibacterium was increased by dietary SPL supplementation compared to the other treatments. Our findings suggest that SPL supplementation improves growth performance through enhanced carbohydrate utilization capacity via improvement of gut morphological status and modulation of the cecal microbial population of broilers.

Long-term chemically protected sodium butyrate supplementation in broilers as an antibiotic alternative to dynamically modulate gut microbiota

Chemically protected sodium butyrate (CSB) is a new kind of sodium butyrate. Our previous study found that 1,000 mg/kg of CSB had the potential capacity of improving growth performance and promoting early development of small intestine in broilers. This study aimed to investigate the effect of long-term antibiotics or CSB supplementation for intestinal microflora dynamical regulation in broilers. One hundred ninety-two 1-day-old Arbor Acres male broilers were randomly allocated into 3 dietary treatment (8 replicates per treatment) and fed with a basal diet (CON), a diet supplemented with the antibiotics (enramycin, 8 mg/kg and aureomycin, 100 mg/kg) (ANT), or a diet supplemented with 1,000 mg/kg of CSB, respectively. Results showed that dietary supplementation of CSB or ANT treatment elevated the weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR; P < 0.05), as compared with control (CON) group. Additionally, CON, CSB, or ANT administration dynamically altered the gut microbiota composition as time goes on. The increased presence of potential pathogens, such as Romboutsia and Shuttleworthia, and decreased beneficial bacteria such as Alistipes, Akkermansia, and Bacteroides were verified in new gut homeostasis reshaped by long-term antibiotics treatment, which has adverse effects on intestinal development and health of broilers. Conversely, CSB supplementation could dynamically enhance the relative abundance of Bacteroides, and decrease Romboutsia and Shuttleworthia in new microflora, which has positive effects on intestinal bacteria of broilers compared with CON group. Meanwhile, CSB supplementation was significantly increased the concentration of propionic acid and total short chain fatty acids (total SCFA; P < 0.05) in comparison with CON and ANT groups. Moreover, CSB treatment significantly increased anti-inflammatory and antioxidative capacities (P < 0.05) of broilers compared with ANT group. Taken together, we revealed characteristic structural changes of gut microbiota throughout long-term CSB or ANT supplementation in broilers, which provided a basic data for evaluating the mechanism of action affecting intestinal health by CSB or ANT administration and CSB as an alternative to antibiotics in the broilers industry.

Dynamic Changes in the Gut Microbial Community and Function during Broiler Growth

During the entire growth process, gut microbiota continues to change and has a certain impact on the performance of broilers. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to explore the dynamic changes in the fecal bacterial communities and functions in 120 broilers from 4 to 16 weeks of age. We found that the main phyla (Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroides) accounted for more than 93.5% of the total bacteria in the feces. The alpha diversity of the fecal microbiota showed a downward trend with time, and the beta diversity showed significant differences at various time points. Then, the study on the differences of microbiota between high-weight (HW) and low-weight (LW) broilers showed that there were differences in the diversity and composition of microbiota between high- and low-weight broilers. Furthermore, we identified 22 genera that may be related to the weight change of broilers. The analysis of flora function reveals their changes in metabolism, genetic information processing, and environmental information processing. Finally, combined with microbial function and cecal transcriptome results, we speculated that microorganisms may affect the immune level and energy metabolism level of broilers through their own carbohydrate metabolism and lipid metabolism and then affect body weight (BW). Our results will help to expand our understanding of intestinal microbiota and provide guidance for the production of high-quality broilers.

IMPORTANCE The intestinal microbiota has a certain impact on the performance of broilers. However, the change of intestinal microbiota after 4 weeks of age is not clear, and the mechanism of the effect of microorganisms on the weight change of broilers needs more exploration. After 4 weeks of age, the alpha diversity of microorganisms in broiler feces decreased, and the dominant bacteria were Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroides. There were differences in microbiota diversity and composition between high- and low-weight broilers. Intestinal microorganisms may affect the immune level and energy metabolism level of broilers through their own carbohydrate metabolism and lipid metabolism and then affect the body weight. The results are helpful to increase the understanding of intestinal microbiota and provide reference for the production of high-quality broilers.

Effects of Sophorolipid on Growth Performance, Organ Characteristics, Lipid Digestion Markers, and Gut Functionality and Integrity in Broiler Chickens

Simple Summary

Availability of dietary fat and oil is important to broiler chicken due to their rapid growth rate. Therefore, we conducted an experiment with dietary sophorolipid, a glycolipid-type emulsifier, to investigate growth, lipid digestion markers and gut health during the growing period. Growth was accelerated by dietary sophorolipid supplementation through upregulation of lipid digestion and absorption markers. Additionally, dietary sophorolipid also increased the surface area of the gut and modulated microbial population and short-chain fatty acid concentration. Collectively, this study proposed that sophorolipid addition in feed could enhance chicken’s growth by increased intestinal absorption of dietary lipid and improved gut microenvironments.

Abstract

Dietary fat and oil could aid in reaching the high-energy requirements of fast-growing birds; however, these inclusions could lead to nutrient waste. This is because young birds have limited lipid digestion due to the low secretion of lipase and bile salt. Sophorolipid (SPL), a glycolipid emulsifier with lower toxicity and higher biodegradability, can upregulate fat utilization by increasing digestibility. Accordingly, a five-week-long experiment was conducted with 720 one-day-old chicks (Ross 308) to investigate the effects of dietary SPL on growth, organ characteristics, and gut health. The allotment was partitioned into four treatment groups according to their body weight with six replications (30 chick/pen). The three treatment diets comprised a basal diet with a formulation that met the Ross 308 standard and 5, 10, and 15 ppm SPL in the basal diet. During the experiment, the birds had free access to feed, and body weight and feed intake were measured at the end of each phase. Chickens were put down at the end of the growing and finishing phases, and jejunum and cecal samples were obtained to investigate organ characteristics and gut environments. The data were analyzed using the generalized linear model procedures of SAS 9.4, and all data were assessed for linear, quadratic, and cubic effects of dietary SPL-supplemented dosages. Body weight was significantly increased with 10 ppm of SPL supplementation in the grower phase without affecting feed efficiency. The relative weights of the intestine and the bursa of Fabricius were quadratically decreased by SPL supplementation with a lower population of Streptococcus and higher propionate and butyrate concentrations. Additionally, the dietary SPL supplementation groups showed a significantly increased villus/crypt ratio with higher intestinal expression levels of fatty acid translocase, diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2, and fatty acid transporter 4. Collectively, proper SPL supplementation in the chicken diet could improve growth performance by down-regulating immune modulation and up-regulating lipid digestion and absorption via modulation of gut microenvironments.

Protective and restorative effects of sophorolipid on intestinal dystrophy in dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis mouse model

The public has gradually begun to regard inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as a crucial health issue; however, its mode of action has not been fully elucidated. Sophorolipid (SPL), a glycolipid-type biosurfactant, could be used as a potential treatment in physical intestinal dystrophy. We conducted a 2 × 2 factorial experiment to investigate the protective effect of SPL in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model (first factor, presence of SPL in feed; second factor, presence of DSS in water). Forty C57BL/6 mice (8-week-old) were used, and they were allocated to treatments according to their initial body weight. After a 7 d adjustment period, the DSS treatment was initiated in specific groups. At day 14, DSS was withdrawn from mice, and half of the mice were randomly selected and euthanized to collect colon and colon content samples. Three days after the end of DSS treatment, the rest of the mice were euthanized to investigate the therapeutic effect of SPL. Dietary SPL improved the growth performance in 3 d after DSS treatment, and the histopathological score was lower in the DSS-treated SPL group than in the DSS-treated control group. Mucosal thickness and goblet cell numbers significantly increased in the SPL-supplemented groups compared to in the control group. Similarly, SPL supplementation upregulated the gene expression levels of mucin-2, interleukin-10, and transforming growth factor-β, and increased the concentration of short chain fatty acid compared to the control groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with SPL attenuated the pathological response against acute and chronic inflammation by the maintenance of the mucosal barrier and wound healing capacity.

Sophorolipid protects against early-weaning syndrome by improving the gut microenvironment in early-weaned piglets

Background

In animals, weaning stress is the first and most critical stress. Weaning can negatively affect the growth performance of animals physically, psychologically, and pathologically. Our previous studies on the HT-29 cell line and early-weaned rats demonstrated that adequate sophorolipid (SPL) supplementation in feed could enhance the mucin-producing and wound healing capacities of the gut defense system by modulating gut microbiota.

Methods

We conducted an experiment with one hundred forty 21-day-old early weaned piglets (L x Y x D). They were allocated into 4 treatment and 7 replications (4 pigs per pen) according to their initial body weight. Body weight and feed intake were measured biweekly during experimental period. After 6 weeks, 28 pigs were randomly selected and sacrificed to collect plasma, jejunum, and cecal content samples.

Results

Dietary SPL supplementation at 5 and 10 mg/kg quadratically increased the average daily gain during the experimental period in the treatment groups when compared with the control group. The albumin levels of piglets fed with the SPL supplemented diet were downregulated to the normal range. Moreover, in feed, SPL supplementation at 5 and 10 mg/kg improved jejunal histological indices and gene expression levels related to mucin secretion and local inflammation markers. Consistent with these results, adequate SPL supplementation (5 and 10 mg/kg) increased the population of Prevotella, a beneficial bacterium, and its short-chain fatty acid production in the ceca of piglets.

Conclusions

The occurrence of diarrhea after weaning in piglets could be reduced by feeding a 10 ppm of SPL supplemented diet which improves the gut defense system by improving the microbial population and enhancing mucin layer integrity.