Microbiome and metabolic changes in milk in response to artemisinin supplementation in dairy cows

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the effects of artemisinin (ART) on the milk microbiome and metabolites of dairy cow. A total of 12 mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows with similar parity, days in milk were randomly divided into 2 groups receiving either a total mixed ration (TMR) as the control group or this TMR and 120 g/d/head ART as the ART group. The milk samples were collected weekly to determine the contents, and end-of-trial (week 8) milk samples were used to identify microbial species and metabolite profiles by 16S rRNA sequencing and LC-MS analyses, respectively. We observed that the milk fat content significantly increased by ART treatment (P < 0.05). The bacterial community richness was significantly lower in the ART group (P < 0.05), while the diversity showed no difference (P > 0.05). Compared with its abundance in the control (CON) group, Firmicutes was significantly decreased, whereas Proteobacteria was significantly increased. Furthermore, in the ART group, the relative abundances of the genera Aerococcus, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium_1 and Facklamia were significantly lower (P < 0.01). Metabolomics analysis revealed that ART significantly increasing the concentrations of glycerophospholipids, glycerolipids and flavonoids compared with those in the CON group. An enrichment analysis of the different metabolites showed that ART mainly affected glycerophospholipid metabolism and the pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis pathways. These findings revealed that ART supplementation could affect the milk microbiota and metabolites, that glycerophospholipids and glycerolipids could be potential biomarkers in the milk response to ART feed in dairy cows, and that ART changes substances in milk by maintaining lipid metabolism in the mammary gland.

Effects of Dietary Modified Bazhen on Reproductive Performance, Immunity, Breast Milk Microbes, and Metabolome Characterization of Sows

“…Specifically, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was increased with MBP supplementation, whereas that of Firmicutes was decreased, especially on day 7 of lactation. Similar results were also obtained by Hou et al, and they hypothesize that the bacteria can be transferred from the rumen to the mammary gland due to the observed similar species in the milk and rumen (Hou et al, 2020). These data indicate the influences of MBP on the local microbiota.…”

A Combined Metabolomic and Metagenomic Approach to Discriminate Raw Milk for the Production of Hard Cheese

“…Additionally, regarding the transformation of milk in hard cheese, it is important to consider the starting microbiota composition. In this regard, members of the milk microbiota (including lactic acid bacteria) could directly affect the quality of milk intended for processing into cheese [ 13 ]. In particular, some specific dominant bacteria play an important role in udder homeostasis, which guarantees high milk quality [ 14 ].…”

Artemisinin Protects Porcine Mammary Epithelial Cells against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Injury by Regulating the NF-κB and MAPK Signaling Pathways

“…This chemical is isolated from the Chinese plant Artemisia annua L. and is effective for the treatment of severe and multidrug-resistant malaria [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Previous studies have shown that artemisinin has a variety of biological functions, such as anti-bacterial [ 18 ], anti-inflammatory [ 19 ], anti-viral [ 20 ], antioxidant [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], and immunomodulatory activities [ 24 , 25 ]. Although many studies have described the anti-inflammatory functions of artemisinin, the effects of artemisinin on LPS-induced inflammatory damage in porcine mammary epithelial cells (pMECs) remain to be clarified.…”