Abstract
Salmonellae are one of the most important foodborne pathogens, which threaten the health of humans and animals severely. Glycyrrhizin (GL) has been proven to exhibit anti-inflammatory and tissue-protective properties. Here, we investigated the effects of GL on tissue injury, inflammatory response, and intestinal dysbiosis in Salmonella Typhimurium-infected mice. Results showed that GL or gentamicin (GM) significantly (P < 0.05) alleviated ST-induced splenomegaly indicated by the decreased spleen index, injury of liver and jejunum indicated by the decreased hepatocytic apoptosis, and the increased jejunal villous height. GL significantly (P < 0.05) increased secretion of inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-12p70, IL-6, and IL-10) in spleen and IL-12p40 mRNA expression in liver. Meanwhile, GL or GM pre-infection treatments significantly (P < 0.05) decreased ST-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6) expression in both spleen and liver and increased (P < 0.05) anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 secretion in spleen. Furthermore, GL or GM pre-infection treatment also regulates the diversities and compositions of intestinal microbiota and decreased the negative connection among the intestinal microbes in ST-infected mice. The above findings indicate that GL alleviates ST-induced splenomegaly, hepatocytic apoptosis, injury of jejunum and liver, inflammatory response of liver and spleen, and intestinal dysbacteriosis in mice.
Highlights
Salmonellae are facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens, which can invade and survive inside many cell types, such as epithelial cells, macrophages, microfold (M) cells, and dendritic cells [1, 2]
It is reported that Salmonellae-contaminated food-induced Salmonellosis is one of the major causes of diarrhea of humans globally [5], and the Glycyrrhizin Attenuates Salmonella Typhimurium Infection total economic loss caused by Salmonellosis is estimated to be over $3.5 billion per year in the US [6]
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits for IFN-γ, IL-12p70, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-6, and IL-10 were obtained from eBioscience (San Diego, CA, USA)
Summary
Salmonellae are facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens, which can invade and survive inside many cell types, such as epithelial cells, macrophages, microfold (M) cells, and dendritic cells [1, 2]. Salmonellae infection causes enteric diseases that compromise growth performance and overall health of animals and thereby lead to serious economic loss for food animal industry and leads to serious Salmonellae-contaminated raw food animal products (meat and eggs) [6, 7]. With the strict ban of the in-feed antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs), gastrointestinal infectious diseases of food animals and zoonotic pathogen contamination in animal products severely threaten the health of animals and humans [11, 14]. Many studies have been reported that some natural agents, such as natural plant extracts, probiotics, and prebiotics, are beneficial for improving growth performance and reducing morbidity and mortality of food animals, and are considered “Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)” alternatives to AGP [13, 15,16,17]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
