Table_1_Trans-Anethole Alleviates Subclinical Necro-Haemorrhagic Enteritis-Induced Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction and Intestinal Inflammation in Broilers.DOCX

This study investigated the alleviative potential of trans-anethole (TA) on the impaired intestinal barrier and intestinal inflammation and its regulatory effects on gut microbiota in broilers with subclinical necro-hemorrhagic enteritis (NE) challenge. Subclinical NE challenge led to a severe decline in the 21-day body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG), but an increase in feed conversion ratio (FCR) and intestinal lesion score of birds compared with controls (P < 0.05). Compared with the subclinical NE group, the TA administration group exhibited lower (P < 0.05) intestinal lesion score and crypt depth (CD), serum diamine oxidase activity, and D-lactate concentration, but higher (P < 0.05) intestinal tight junction protein expressions, villus height (VH), VH/CD, and numbers of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells. The administration of TA also inhibited (P < 0.05) the expression of intestinal pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) but increased (P < 0.05) jejunal IL-10 and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) concentration. TA inclusion also led to a remarkable reduction of intestinal NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (IκBα) degradation and nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κB) translocation. Moreover, TA modulated the cecal microbiota abundance and diversity of NE birds, as confirmed by reducing the phylum Firmicutes and genera Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group, and Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group when supplemented at 600 mg/kg and reducing genera Butyricicoccus, Oscillibacter, and Flavonifractor when supplemented at 400 mg/kg (P < 0.05). Supplementation of TA in broiler diets could alleviate subclinical NE infection by restoring intestinal barrier integrity, inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway, and modulating gut microbiota. A 600-mg/kg dose of TA is the optimum concentration for ameliorating subclinical NE in broilers.

本研究探讨了反式茴香醚（TA）对受损肠道屏障和肠道炎症的缓解潜力，及其对遭受亚临床坏死性出血性肠炎（NE）挑战的肉鸡肠道微生物群的调节作用。亚临床NE挑战导致与对照相比，肉鸡在21天内体重（BW）和平均日增重（ADG）显著下降，但饲料转化率（FCR）和肠道损伤评分升高（P < 0.05）。与亚临床NE组相比，TA给药组表现出较低的肠道损伤评分和隐窝深度（CD）、血清二胺氧化酶活性和D-乳酸浓度，但肠道紧密连接蛋白表达、绒毛高度（VH）、VH/CD比率和增殖细胞核抗原（PCNA）阳性细胞数量较高（P < 0.05）。TA的给予还抑制了（P < 0.05）肠道促炎细胞因子，包括白细胞介素（IL）-1β、IL-8、干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）的表达，但增加了（P < 0.05）回肠IL-10和分泌型免疫球蛋白A（sIgA）的浓度。TA的添加还显著降低了肠道NF-κB抑制剂α（IκBα）的降解和核因子κB（NF-κB）的转位。此外，TA调节了NE鸡盲肠微生物群的丰富度和多样性，当以600 mg/kg补充时，显著降低了门纲厚壁菌门和属Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014、Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group和Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group的丰度，当以400 mg/kg补充时，显著降低了属丁酸菌、Oscillibacter和Flavonifractor的丰度（P < 0.05）。TA在肉鸡饲料中的添加可通过恢复肠道屏障完整性、抑制NF-κB信号通路和调节肠道微生物群来减轻亚临床NE感染。600 mg/kg的TA剂量是改善肉鸡亚临床NE的最佳浓度。