Relievable effect of dietary Allium hookeri on LPS induced intestinal inflammation response in young broiler chickens

Abstract

Abstract A study using 150 one-day-old broilers was conducted to assess the effects of Allium hookeri (AH) root and fermented root on inflammatory responses and intestinal barrier integrity of LPS challenged broiler chickens. Birds were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 25 birds/treatment) and fed standard diets supplemented with AH root or fermented root at two different levels (1% or 5%). Control birds were provided with non-supplemented basal diets. At 7 days of age, 5 groups (n = 125) in each dietary treatment were injected with LPS (1 mg/kg body weight), and the remaining 25 birds were injected with sterile PBS for negative control. LPS challenge significantly reduced average body weight gain at 24hr post-injection compared to PBS control, and increased by 1% with fermented root supplementation compared to LPS-challenged control. Serum α-1-AGP levels and transcript levels of IL-1b, IL-8, TNFSF15 and LITAF in jejunum were significantly higher in LPS-injected chickens, α-1-AGP levels in serum were reduced by AH root or fermented root (1, 5%) supplementation. Cytokine levels (IL-1b, IL-8 and LITAF) were also down-regulated by AH root and fermented root (1 and 5%) supplementation. However, TNFSF15 reduction was only significant by fermented root (1 and 5%) supplementation. The reduced expression of tight junction proteins (JAM2 and occludin) and MUC2 by LPS challenge was induced by root or fermented root (1% and 5%) supplementation, but there was no significant effect in ZO1. These findings demonstrated that dietary AH root or fermented root influences anti-inflammatory activity and tight junction protein expression in LPS-induced chickens.