Graded levels of Eimeria infection modulated gut physiology and temporarily ceased the egg production of laying hens at peak production

Sharma, Milan Kumar; Singh, Amit Kumar; Goo, Doyun; Choppa, Venkata Sesha Reddy; Ko, Hanseo; Shi, Hanyi; Kim, Woo Kyun

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2023.103229

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The breach in the intestinal mucosa by Eimeria triggers several signaling cascades, leading to the production of cytokines involved in inflammation ( Lillehoj and Lillehoj, 2000 ; Yun et al, 2000 ; Hong et al, 2006a ). Following the Eimeria infection, the expression of pro-inflammatory (IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) increased in challenged birds, consistent with the findings from previous studies ( Hong et al, 2006b ; Sharma et al, 2024a ; 2024b ). However, 0.5% AA inclusion reduced the expression of both IFN-γ and IL-10 compared to the CC, suggesting that AA can reduce the inflammatory response of chickens by various means and help the normal functioning and upregulation of humoral responses ( Song et al, 2017 ; Yang et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…As previously observed, Eimeria infection significantly influenced duodenal, jejunal, and ileal morphology by decreasing the VH and increasing the CD of laying hens ( Sharma et al, 2024a ; 2024b ). Conversely, the dietary inclusion of AA partially alleviated the negative effect of coccidiosis on the small intestinal morphometric architecture during the recovery phase (8–21 dpi).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…However, in this study, AA inclusion was ineffective in preventing BW loss. As the hens were not growing, they might have utilized their fat reserve to lay eggs during the acute phase (0–6 dpi) while simultaneously fighting the infection ( Sharma et al, 2024b ). In the current study, the distinct smell and bitter taste of AA led to strong feed refusal in the lower AA-inclusion group compared to the higher inclusion group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gastrointestinal health is of great importance in poultry as it affects nutrient digestion, absorption, and utilization, and, most importantly, if compromised, affects the health and welfare of the chickens ( Choi et al, 2023a ; Tompkins et al, 2023 ; Sharma et al, 2024a ; 2024b ). The findings from the current study confirmed that Eimeria species damage the intestinal tract with mild-to-severe intestinal lesions and structural damage to the intestinal architecture of the villi, ultimately affecting the performance of the laying hens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For intestinal morphometric analysis, 2-cm-long sections of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were collected and fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin. The villus height ( VH ), crypt depth ( CD ), and VH-to-CD ( VHCD ) ratio were measured following the procedure outlined by Sharma et al (2024b) . Furthermore, samples of the jejunum and cecal tonsils were collected and snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen at the abovementioned time points for gene expression.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Effects of Artemisia annua supplementation on the performance and gut health of laying hens challenged with mixed Eimeria species

Sharma,

Liu,

Choppa

et al. 2024

Front. Physiol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundCoccidiosis outbreaks in susceptible laying hens can significantly decrease egg production and cause substantial economic loss to the egg industry. The supplementation of poultry diets with chemotherapeutic agents is limited due to antimicrobial resistance and residue in poultry meat or processed products. Therefore, alternative strategies to control coccidiosis are needed, and Artemisia annua (AA) might have the potential to be a phytogenic feed additive, an alternative to anticoccidial agents. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the dietary supplementation of powdered AA on the performance and gut health of laying hens infected with coccidiosis by Eimeria spp.MethodsA total of 225 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens at 23 weeks of age were allocated into 5 treatment groups: 1) control (NC), 2) pair-fed (PF) control, 3) challenged control (CC), 4) CC with dietary inclusion of 0.5% AA (0.5AA), and v) CC with dietary inclusion of 1% AA (1AA). The hens in the CC, 0.5AA, and 1AA groups were orally inoculated with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria maxima (12,500), Eimeria tenella (12,500), and Eimeria acervulina (62,500) at week 25. The PF hens received the same amount of feed consumed by the CC hens from 0–14 days post-inoculation (dpi) of Eimeria spp. The performance of the laying hens, including body weight (BW), hen–day egg production (HDEP), feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR), was measured weekly. Additionally, markers of intestinal health, including gut permeability, lesion score, intestinal morphometry, and immune responses, were evaluated at 6, 14, and 21 dpi.ResultsAt 6 and 14 dpi, laying hens challenged with Eimeria spp. had a lower BW than PF and NC hens (p < 0.0001). Supplementation of 1% AA improved the HDEP by 8.1% compared to CC hens; however, it was still 15.4% lower than that of PF hens (p < 0.0001). The inclusion of 1% AA did not have any beneficial effect on FI; however, the FCR was improved by 0.61 (2.46) than that of CC hens (3.07; p < 0.0001). The inclusion of 1% AA reduced the severity of the intestinal lesions and increased the recovery of intestinal villi (p < 0.05). Additionally, gut permeability was significantly different between the challenged and non-challenged hens; however, among the challenged hens, the inclusion of AA reduced the gut permeability by 29% compared to CC hens (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, the inclusion of 0.5% AA reduced the inflammatory responses in the infected hens.ConclusionDietary inclusion of AA partially restored the performance and gut health of the laying hens and modulated their inflammatory immune response following Eimeria infection; however, further studies are needed to better understand the mode of action and effective dosages to improve the gut health without negative impacts on the performance.

show abstract