Coccidiosis is one of the major parasitic diseases in the commercial broiler industry. Probiotics can protect poultry against Eimeria infection. However, the mechanisms are not fully known. Therefore, Lactobacillus plantarum P8 (P8) was used to investigate its anti-coccidial property and mechanism. Five hundred broilers were allocated to five treatments: control diet (NC), control diet + Eimeria infection (IC), control diet containing 1 × 107 cfu/g P8 + Eimeria infection (P8L), control diet containing 1 × 108 cfu/g P8 + Eimeria infection (P8H), and control diet + Eimeria infection + Diclazuril (DIC). At day 14, all treatments except NC were inoculated with sporulated oocysts. Results indicated that Eimeria infection increased the mortality and oocysts shedding, and declined the growth performance as well as the intestinal barrier in Eimeria-treated broilers. On the contrary, dietary supplementation of low level P8, high level P8 and DIC decreased the mortality and oocysts shedding, but improved the growth performance and intestinal barrier. The impaired intestinal morphology in the IC group was also improved by P8H and DIC treatments. Besides, the elevated oxidative stress and pro-inflammation in Eimeria-infected broilers were reduced by P8L, P8H, and DIC treatments. Metagenomic analysis indicated P8 altered the structure of the gut microbiota, and the alteration was more obvious at day 21 than day 42. Notably, IC also increased the abundances of Eimeriidae, Eimeria and Eimeria tenella at day 21, while P8L and DIC decreased the abundances. Correlation analysis revealed that bacteria in Eimeria-treated broilers positively correlated with the intestinal permeability, oxidative stress and inflammation, while bacteria in broilers receiving P8L and DIC negatively correlated with the aforementioned pathological indices. Functional prediction demonstrated that the metagenomes of Eimeria-infected broilers were involved in several diseases. But the metagenomes of P8L-treated broilers were involved in energy metabolism and replication repair. In conclusion, dietary P8 supplementation inhibited oocyst shedding and improved the growth performance as well as the intestinal health of broilers infected with Eimeria, which was closely related to the regulation of gut microbiota. Moreover, the effects of P8 may be more effective in the early infection of coccidia.

The effects of chlorogenic acid (CGA) on growth performance, anticoccidial indicators (oocysts per gram of excreta, cecal lesion score, and bloody diarrhea score), immunity, antioxidant status, and intestinal barrier function in coccidia-infected broilers were investigated. A total of 240 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into four groups with six replicates of ten broilers each for 42 days. Four treatments included control diet (non-infected control, NC), control diet +Eimeria infection (infected control, IC), control diet +0.5 g/kg CGA + Eimeria infection (CGA0.5), and control diet +1 g/kg CGA + Eimeria infection (CGA1). At day 14, each broiler in IC, CGA0.5, and CGA1 groups was orally inoculated with 1 mL saline containing 4 × 105 sporulated oocysts. The results showed that the CGA1 group increased the average daily gain by 12.57% (p < 0.001) and decreased the feed/gain ratio (p = 0.010) and mortality (p = 0.030) by 13.00% and 77.76%, respectively, of broilers from 14 to 42 days compared with the IC group. The CGA1 group decreased the oocysts per gram of excreta (p < 0.001) and bloody diarrhea score (p = 0.001) compared with the IC group. The CGA0.5 and CGA1 groups increased total antioxidant capacity (p < 0.001) at day 21 and villus height (p < 0.001) in the duodenum and jejunum at day 42, and decreased the levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) (p = 0.002), malondialdehyde (MDA) (p < 0.001), D-lactic acid (p < 0.001), and diamine oxidase (DAO) (p < 0.001) at day 21 and the levels of MDA (p < 0.001) and D-lactic acid (p = 0.003) at day 42 compared with the IC group. In the CGA1 group, villus height in the duodenum (p < 0.001) and jejunum (p = 0.017) increased at day 21 and in the ileum (p < 0.001) at day 42, and the level of DAO (p < 0.001) decreased at day 42 compared with the IC group. Broilers in the IC group had a higher IL-6 level (p = 0.048) at day 42 and lower IL-10 (p = 0.027) and immunoglobulin A (p = 0.042) levels at day 21, and IL-10 level (p = 0.017) at day 42 than those in the NC group, while no significant differences were observed among the NC, CGA0.5, and CGA1 groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 1 g/kg CGA improved growth performance, immunity, antioxidant status, and intestinal barrier function in coccidia-infected broilers.

No abstract

Background: Commercial broilers under intensive production are highly vulnerable to various stressors, especially immunologically. It has been reported that chlorogenic acid (CGA) could affect the intestinal microbiota and barrier function and elicit several health benefits, including improved immune function. Complex interrelations regulate the dynamic interplay among gut microbiota, host, and diverse health outcomes. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the immunoregulatory mechanisms of CGA using multi-omics approaches. Results: CGA supplementation significantly improved jejunal morphology, jejunal barrier function, and immune function in dexamethasone (DEX)-treated broilers. Moreover, in DEX-CGA-treated broilers, the increase in gut microbiome diversity was consistent with change in taxonomic composition, especially in the Clostridiales_vadinBB60_group. Additionally, the levels of short chain fatty acids increased remarkably after CGA supplementation, which was consistent with the results of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis for different gut microbes. Moreover, through multiple reaction monitoring, significant enrichment was observed in the pyruvate fermentation and butanonate metabolism pathways in the DEX-CGA group. Proteomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that CGA treatment increased the expression of several health promoting proteins (TMSB4X and LGMN) and metabolites (2,4-dihydroxy benzoic acid and homogentisic acid), and regulated the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, which were supported by western blotting results. Pearson’s correlation analyses showed significant correlations between altered parameters of immune function, jejunal barrier function, and different microbiota, proteins, and metabolites. Conclusions: Overall, our data indicated that CGA treatment improved the performance and immunological functions of DEX-treated broilers by regulating gut microbiota, especially Clostridiales_vadinBB60_group, and PPAR and MAPK pathways. The result offer novel insights into CGA-mediated improvement in immune function and intestinal health.

Background: Coccidiosis is one of the major parasitic diseases in the commercial broiler industry. Probiotics can protect poultry against Eimeria infection. However, the mechanisms are not fully known. Therefore, Lactobacillus plantarum P8 (P8) was used to investigate its anti-coccidial property and mechanism.Methods: Five hundred broilers were allocated to five treatments: control diet (NC), control diet + Eimeria infection (IC), control diet containing 1 × 107 cfu/g P8 + Eimeria infection (P8L), control diet containing 1 × 108 cfu/g P8 + Eimeria infection (P8H), and control diet + Eimeria infection + Diclazuril (DIC). At day 14, all treatments except NC were inoculated with sporulated oocysts. Results: Eimeria infection increased the mortality and oocysts shedding, and declined the growth performance as well as the intestinal barrier in Eimeria-treated broilers. On the contrary, dietary supplementation of low level P8, high level P8 and DIC decreased the mortality and oocysts shedding, but improved the growth performance and intestinal barrier. The impaired intestinal morphology in the IC group was also improved by P8H and DIC treatments. Besides, the elevated oxidative stress and pro-inflammation in Eimeria-infected broilers were reduced by P8L, P8H and DIC treatments. Metagenomic analysis indicated P8 altered the structure of the gut microbiota, and the alteration was more obvious at day 21 than day 42. Notably, IC also increased the abundances of Eimeriidae, Eimeria and Eimeria tenella at day 21, while P8L and DIC decreased the abundances. Correlation analysis revealed that bacteria in Eimeria-treated broilers positively correlated with the intestinal permeability, oxidative stress and inflammation, while bacteria in broilers receiving P8L and DIC negatively correlated with the aforementioned pathological indices. Functional prediction demonstrated that the metagenomes of Eimeria-infected broilers were involved in several diseases. But the metagenomes of P8L-treated broilers were involved in energy metabolism and replication repair. Conclusions: Dietary P8 supplementation inhibited oocyst shedding and improved the growth performance as well as the intestinal health of broilers infected with Eimeria, which was closely related to the regulation of gut microbiota. Moreover, the effects of P8 may be more effective in the early infection of coccidia.