Table_1_Dietary supplementation with Chinese herb ultrafine powder improves intestinal morphology and physical barrier function by altering jejunal microbiota in laying hens.DOCX

IntroductionChinese medicinal herbs play important roles in anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities. However, the effects of Chinese herb ultrafine powder (CHUP) on laying hens still need to be elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary CHUP supplementation on jejunal morphology, physical barrier function, and microbiota in laying hens.
MethodsA total of 576 Xinyang black-feather laying hens (300 days old) were randomly assigned into eight groups, with eight replicates per group and nine hens per replicate. The hens were fed a basal diet (control group) and a basal diet supplemented with 0.5% Leonuri herba (LH group), 0.25% Ligustri lucidi fructus (LF group), 0.25% Taraxaci herba (TH group), 0.5% LH + 0.25% LF (LH-LF group), 0.5% LH + 0.25% TH (LH-TH group), 0.25% LF + 0.25% TH (LF-TH group), and 0.5% LH + 0.25% LF + 0.25% TH (LH-LF-TH group), respectively, for 120 days.
ResultsThe results showed that dietary LH-LF and LH-LF-TH supplementation increased (p < 0.05) the jejunal villus height to crypt depth ratio of laying hens. Dietary LF-TH supplementation up-regulated jejunal claudin-5 expression, while LH supplementation up-regulated jejunal claudin-1 expression and increased the jejunal abundances of potentially beneficial bacteria related to short-chain fatty acids and bacteriocins production, such as Blautia, Carnobacterium, Clostridiales, and Erysipelotrichales (p < 0.05). In addition, dietary LH supplementation enriched (p < 0.05) the tetracycline biosynthesis, butirosin/neomycin biosynthesis, and D-arginine/D-ornithine metabolism, whereas steroid biosynthesis and limonene/pinene degradation were enriched (p < 0.05) in the LH-LF and LH-LF-TH groups. Moreover, Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed the potential correlation between the abundance of the jejunal microbiota and jejunal morphology and the physical barrier function of laying hens.
DiscussionCollectively, these findings suggest that dietary CHUP supplementation could enhance the beneficial bacteria abundance, physical barrier function, and metabolic function associated with short-chain fatty acids and bacteriocins production. Moreover, combined supplementation of dietary CHUP showed better effects than the sole CHUP supplementation.

引言
中草药在抗炎、抗氧化及抗菌活性方面具有重要作用。然而，中草药超微粉（Chinese herb ultrafine powder, CHUP）对产蛋鸡的调控效应仍有待阐明。为此，本研究旨在评估日粮添加中草药超微粉对产蛋鸡空肠形态、物理屏障功能及肠道微生物群的影响。

材料与方法
选取576只300日龄的信阳黑羽产蛋鸡，随机分为8组，每组设8个重复，每个重复饲养9只产蛋鸡。试验鸡分别饲喂基础日粮（对照组），以及添加0.5%益母草（Leonuri herba, LH）、0.25%女贞子（Ligustri lucidi fructus, LF）、0.25%蒲公英（Taraxaci herba, TH）、0.5%益母草+0.25%女贞子（LH-LF组）、0.5%益母草+0.25%蒲公英（LH-TH组）、0.25%女贞子+0.25%蒲公英（LF-TH组）、0.5%益母草+0.25%女贞子+0.25%蒲公英（LH-LF-TH组）的基础日粮，试验周期为120天。

结果
日粮添加LH-LF及LH-LF-TH组可显著提高产蛋鸡的空肠绒毛高度与隐窝深度比值（P<0.05）。日粮添加LF-TH可上调产蛋鸡空肠紧密连接蛋白-5（claudin-5）的表达；而日粮添加LH可上调空肠紧密连接蛋白-1（claudin-1）的表达，并显著提升空肠中与短链脂肪酸及细菌素生成相关的潜在有益菌丰度，包括布劳特氏菌属（Blautia）、食肉杆菌属（Carnobacterium）、梭菌目（Clostridiales）及丹毒丝菌目（Erysipelotrichales）（P<0.05）。此外，日粮添加LH组可显著富集四环素生物合成、丁酰苷菌素/新霉素生物合成及D-精氨酸/D-鸟氨酸代谢通路（P<0.05）；LH-LF及LH-LF-TH组则显著富集类固醇生物合成及柠檬烯/蒎烯降解通路（P<0.05）。另外，Spearman相关分析显示，产蛋鸡空肠微生物群丰度与空肠形态及物理屏障功能之间存在潜在关联。

讨论
综合来看，本研究结果表明，日粮添加中草药超微粉可提升与短链脂肪酸及细菌素生成相关的有益菌丰度、物理屏障功能及代谢功能。此外，中草药超微粉联合添加的效果优于单一成分添加。