Liu Chunming, Huang Hui, Chen Yulian, Zhou Yingjun, Meng Tiantian, Tan Bihui, He Wenxiang, Fu Xiaoqin, Xiao Dingfu
College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China.
College of Xiangya Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Front Nutr. 2024 Jul 30;11:1428577. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1428577. eCollection 2024.
This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effects of mulberry leaf flavonoids and carnosic acid complex (MCC) on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, antioxidant, and p38 MAPK/Nrf2 pathway in broilers.
A total of 256 healthy 8-day-old female yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into 4 equal groups: a control group (CON) fed a basal diet, an antibiotic group (CTC) supplemented with 50 mg/kg chlortetracycline, and two experimental groups (MCC75, MCC150) fed basal diets with 75 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg of MCC, respectively. The experiment lasted for 56 days, with days 1-28 designated as the initial phase and days 29-56 as the growth phase.
The results on the growth performance showed that diets supplemented with MCC and CTC decreased the feed-to-gain ratio (F/G), diarrhea rate, and death rate, while significantly increasing the average daily weight gain (ADG) ( < 0.05). Specifically, the MCC150 group enhanced intestinal health, indicated by reduced crypt depth and increased villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (V/C) as well as amylase activity in the jejunum. Both the MCC and CTC groups exhibited increased villus height and V/C ratio in the ileal ( < 0.05). Additionally, all treated groups showed elevated serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and significant increases in catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were observed in both the MCC150 and CTC groups. Molecular analysis revealed an upregulation of the jejunal mRNA expression levels of PGC-1α, Nrf2, and Keap1 in the MCC and CTC groups, as well as an upregulation of ileum mRNA expression levels of P38, PGC-1α, Nrf2, and Keap1 in the MCC150 group, suggesting activation of the p38-MAPK/Nrf2 pathway.
These findings indicate that dietary supplementation with MCC, particularly at a dosage of 150 mg/kg, may serve as a viable antibiotic alternative, enhancing growth performance, intestinal health, and antioxidant capacity in broilers by regulating the p38-MAPK/Nrf2 pathway.
本研究旨在探讨桑叶黄酮与鼠尾草酸复合物（MCC）对肉鸡生长性能、肠道形态、抗氧化能力及p38丝裂原活化蛋白激酶/核因子E2相关因子2（p38 MAPK/Nrf2）信号通路的调控作用。
选取256只8日龄健康雌性黄羽肉鸡，随机分为4组，每组64只：对照组（CON）饲喂基础日粮；抗生素组（CTC）在基础日粮中添加50 mg/kg金霉素；两个实验组（MCC75、MCC150）分别在基础日粮中添加75 mg/kg和150 mg/kg的MCC。试验期为56天，其中第1至28天为初始期，第29至56天为生长期。
生长性能结果显示，添加MCC和CTC的日粮降低了料重比（F/G）、腹泻率和死亡率，同时显著提高了平均日增重（ADG）（P＜0.05）。具体而言，MCC150组改善了肠道健康，表现为空肠隐窝深度降低、绒毛高度与隐窝深度比值（V/C）增加以及淀粉酶活性升高。MCC组和CTC组回肠绒毛高度和V/C比值均增加（P＜0.05）。此外，所有处理组血清总抗氧化能力（T-AOC）均升高，MCC150组和CTC组过氧化氢酶（CAT）和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-Px）活性显著增加。分子分析表明，MCC组和CTC组空肠中PGC-1α、Nrf2和Keap1的mRNA表达水平上调，MCC150组回肠中P38、PGC-1α、Nrf2和Keap1的mRNA表达水平上调，提示p38-MAPK/Nrf2信号通路被激活。
这些结果表明，日粮中添加MCC，尤其是150 mg/kg的剂量，可作为一种可行的抗生素替代品，通过调节p38-MAPK/Nrf2信号通路提高肉鸡的生长性能、肠道健康和抗氧化能力。
