Abstract
Increasing studies have focused on the beneficial effects of Lactobacillus johnsonii in certain diseases. Here, we studied the prevention ability of a probiotic strain, L. johnsonii BS15 on subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE), and its underlying mechanism. 180 male Cobb 500 chicks were randomly allotted into three groups and administrated with BS15 (1 × 106 cfu/g) or Man Rogosa Sharpe liquid medium throughout a 28-day experimental period. With the exception of the normal group, SNE infection was treated for the remaining experimental period after the chicks were fed with normal diet 14 days. Results showed that BS15 notably suppressed the SNE-induced loss of average daily gain and liver functional abnormality. Additionally, BS15 facilitated lipid metabolism of SNE boilers when the contents of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ and adipose triglyceride lipase in adipose tissue and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased. BS15 also attenuated the hepatic lipid accumulation of stricken chicks by suppressing the genes expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c as well as stimulating the genes expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1. Moreover, BS15 enhanced the development of SNE gut by improving the intestinal development and digestion as well as adjusting the gut microflora. Therefore, BS15 may provide a promising natural preventative strategy against SNE, which may be contributed to the amelioration of lipid metabolism and intestinal microflora.
Highlights
Subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE), caused by enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens, is a major cause of human foodborne disease, and currently, most outbreaks of SNE are related with meat products and poultry (Cooper et al 2013)
The Lactobacillus johnsonii BS15 (BS15) supplementation suppressed the decrease in average daily gain (ADG) (P < 0.05) and the increase in Feed conversion rate (FCR) (P > 0.05), which both caused by SNE
Effect of BS15 on the serum biochemical parameters As shown in Table 5, the concentration of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) in serum were both significantly increased in the SNE group compared with the NC group (P < 0.05), and the BS15 supplementation reduced the levels of ALT (P < 0.05) and AST (P > 0.05) with SNE infection
Summary
Subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE), caused by enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens, is a major cause of human foodborne disease, and currently, most outbreaks of SNE are related with meat products and poultry (Cooper et al 2013). The composition of intestinal flora influenced by probiotics plays a pivotal role in preventing liver diseases (Chávez-Tapia et al 2015), and chickens are susceptible to multifarious pressures factors in lipid metabolism (Saneyasu et al 2013). These studies strongly imply the importance of lipid metabolism in the relationship between liver and intestinal flora. Our previous study found that the lipid metabolism of broilers was disturbed by necrotic enteritis, but the addition of Bacillus licheniformis in the basal diet alleviated this damage (Zhou et al 2016), proving that probiotics can promote the growth of animals via improving the lipid metabolism. Little is known about the lipid metabolism in SNE infection chickens caused by C. perfringens, the mechanism of Lactobacillus johnsonii is still unclear as probiotics to prevent SNE
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