Resveratrol alleviates heat stress-induced impairment of intestinal morphology, microflora, and barrier integrity in broilers

Abstract

This study was to investigate the effect of resveratrol on intestinal morphology, microfloras, and barrier integrity of broilers subjected to heat stress. Two-hundred-seventy 21-day-old Cobb male broilers were randomly allocated to 3 treatment groups, each of which included 6 replicates with 15 birds per replicate. The 3 treatment groups were as follows: the control group, in which birds were exposed to thermoneutral condition (22 ± 1°C), and the heat stress group and heat stress + resveratrol (400 mg/kg) group, in which birds were exposed to cyclic heat stress (33 ± 1°C for 10 h/d from 0800 to 1800 h and 22 ± 1°C for the remaining time. Compared with birds in the control group, birds in the heat stress group exhibited decreased (P < 0.05) final body weight, average daily gain, average daily feed intake, villus height, villus height to crypt depth ratio, goblet cells numbers, populations of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and mRNA levels of mucin-2, claudin-1, occludin, zona occludens-1, and E-cadherin, and increased (P < 0.05) crypt depth, serum D-lactic acid and fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran contents and diamine oxidase activity, and populations of Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Clostridium. Compared with birds in the heat stress group, birds in the heat stress + resveratrol group exhibited decreased (P < 0.05) crypt depth, serum D-lactic acid and fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran contents, and populations of Escherichia coli, and increased (P < 0.05) final body weight, villus height, villus height to crypt depth ratio, goblet cells numbers, populations of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and mRNA levels of mucin-2, claudin-1, occludin, and E-cadherin. Taken together, these results indicated for the first time that dietary addition of resveratrol was effective in partially ameliorating the adverse effects of heat stress on intestinal barrier function in broilers by restoring the impaired villus-crypt structure, modifying the profiles of intestinal microfloras, and altering the mRNA expression of intestinal tight junctions- and adherence junctions-related genes.

Protective effects of resveratrol against high ambient temperature‐induced spleen dysplasia in broilers through modulating splenic redox status and apoptosis

“…The animal‐handling protocol was reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, People's Republic of China. Birds, diets, and the experimental design were the same as those in our previous reported paper . Two hundred and seventy male Cobb broilers at 21 days old were individually weighed (the average weight was about 670 g) and divided into three groups: normal ambient temperature group (NT), HT group and HT + trans‐ resveratrol group (HT + Res).…”

“…Resveratrol was extracted from Polygonum cuspidatum and its purity was 98.1%. The main nutrient compositions of the basal diet were as follows: metabolizable energy, 13.08 MJ kg −1 ; crude protein, 190.3 g kg −1 ; calcium, 7.6 g kg −1 ; phosphorus, 5.3 g kg −1 ; lysine, 12 g kg −1 ; methionine, 5.3 g kg −1 …”

“…Birds, diets, and the experimental design were the same as those in our previous reported paper. 4,8 Two hundred and seventy male Cobb broilers at 21 days old were individually weighed (the average weight was about 670 g) and divided into three groups: normal ambient temperature group (NT), HT group and HT + trans-resveratrol group (HT + Res). Each group consisted of six replicates of 15 birds.…”

“…1,4 Many studies indicated that HT had negative effects on the growth, nervous system, endocrine system, and digestive system of broilers. 1,3,4 Moreover, nearly all research reported that the immune function of broilers and laying hens was suppressed by HT. 3 For example, the contents of total circulating antibodies, immuno globulin M (IgM) 5 and immuno globulin G (IgG) 5,6 in serum and the relative weights of spleen, 5-7 thymus 5,6 and bursa of Fabricius [5][6][7] of broilers subjected to HT were reduced.…”

Beta‐glucan from Agrobacterium sp. ZX09 improves growth performance and intestinal function in weaned piglets

“…Structure and metabolites of the gut microbial community are closely related to metagenomic function and nutrient metabolism (Luo et al, ; Zhang et al, ). In this study, beta‐glucan had the ability to increase Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium counts and to reduce Escherichia coli number.…”