Zhang Jingfei, Pu Xiaoxiao, Li Zhaoxing, Liu Shuhan, Zhou Wenjun, Zhang Lili, Zhang Hao
College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, People's Republic of China.
J Anim Sci. 2025 Jan 4;103. doi: 10.1093/jas/skaf285.
The medicinal herb Artemisia annua L. has traditionally been used to promote human and animal health. One of the most important bioactive metabolites is dihydroartemisinin; however, its impact on intestinal health in broilers has not been sufficiently researched. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dihydroartemisinin on growth performance, slaughter performance, serum biochemistry, and intestinal health of AA broiler chickens. Four hundred broilers were randomly divided into five treatment groups, with eight replicates and ten chickens per replicate. The birds were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 5, 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg dihydroartemisinin for 42 consecutive days. The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and orthogonal polynomial contrast. Results showed that dihydroartemisinin supplementation at 10 mg/kg quadratically increased the average body weight, and supplementation at 10 to 20 mg/k quadratically increased the average daily gain from days 1 to 21. Dihydroartemisinin supplementation at 20 mg/kg quadratically increased the breast muscle rate and relative length of the jejunum (P < 0.05). Dihydroartemisinin supplementation at 5 to 40 mg/kg also quadratically increased the serum total protein, albumin, and IgG concentrations at d 42 (P < 0.05). Dihydroartemisinin supplementation at 5 to 10 mg/kg also quadratically increased the serum globulin concentrations (P < 0.05). Furthermore, dihydroartemisinin supplementation at 10 to 20 mg/kg quadratically improved villus length and the villus length to crypt depth ratio in both the jejunum and ileum, while reducing crypt depth and increasing the thickness of jejunal tunica muscularis (P < 0.05). Dihydroartemisinin supplementation at 10 to 20 mg/kg caused a linear and quadratic increase in the mRNA expression of claudin-1 in the jejunum (P < 0.05), an indicator of positive effects on intestinal tight junctions. Dihydroartemisinin supplementation at 10 to 20 mg/kg also linearly and quadratically increased the mRNA expression of mucin2 (MUC2) and toll-like receptor 4 in the jejunum (P < 0.05). Compared to the control group, dihydroartemisinin supplementation at 5, 20, and 40 mg/kg quadratically increased the mRNA expression of kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) in the jejunum (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dihydroartemisinin promoted slaughter performance, serum biochemistry, and intestinal health, including improvements to intestinal morphology and the mucus barrier through the induction of MUC2 and KLF4 genes expression.
传统上，药用植物青蒿被用于促进人类和动物健康。其最重要的生物活性代谢产物之一是双氢青蒿素；然而，其对肉鸡肠道健康的影响尚未得到充分研究。本研究的目的是探讨双氢青蒿素对AA肉鸡生长性能、屠宰性能、血清生化指标和肠道健康的影响。400只肉鸡随机分为5个处理组，每组8个重复，每个重复10只鸡。连续42天给鸡饲喂添加0、5、10、20或40 mg/kg双氢青蒿素的基础日粮。数据采用单因素方差分析和正交多项式对比进行分析。结果表明，添加10 mg/kg双氢青蒿素能使平均体重呈二次曲线增加，添加10至20 mg/kg双氢青蒿素能使第1至21天的平均日增重呈二次曲线增加。添加20 mg/kg双氢青蒿素能使胸肌率和空肠相对长度呈二次曲线增加（P < 0.05）。添加5至40 mg/kg双氢青蒿素也能使42日龄时血清总蛋白、白蛋白和IgG浓度呈二次曲线增加（P < 0.05）。添加5至10 mg/kg双氢青蒿素也能使血清球蛋白浓度呈二次曲线增加（P < 0.05）。此外，添加10至20 mg/kg双氢青蒿素能使空肠和回肠的绒毛长度以及绒毛长度与隐窝深度之比呈二次曲线改善，同时减少隐窝深度并增加空肠肌层厚度（P < 0.05）。添加10至20 mg/kg双氢青蒿素能使空肠中claudin-1的mRNA表达呈线性和二次曲线增加（P < 0.05），claudin-1是对肠道紧密连接有积极影响的指标。添加10至20 mg/kg双氢青蒿素还能使空肠中黏蛋白2（MUC2）和Toll样受体4的mRNA表达呈线性和二次曲线增加（P < 0.05）。与对照组相比，添加5、20和40 mg/kg双氢青蒿素能使空肠中克鲁ppel样因子4（KLF4）的mRNA表达呈二次曲线增加（P < 0.05）。总之，双氢青蒿素促进了屠宰性能、血清生化指标和肠道健康，包括通过诱导MUC2和KLF4基因表达改善肠道形态和黏液屏障。
