Abstract
Background Baicalin and probiotic cocktails are promising feed additives with broad application prospects.While probiotic cocktails are known to enhance intestinal health,the potential synergistic impact of combining baicalin with probiotic cocktails on the gut health of broiler chickens remains largely unexplored.Therefore,this study aims to investigate the influence of the combined administration of baicalin and probiotic cocktails on the composition of ileal and cecal microbiota in broiler chickens to elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for the health-promoting effects.Results A total of 320 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were divided into 4 groups,each with 8 replicates of 10 chicks per replicate.Over a period of 42 d,the birds were fed a basal diet or the same diet supplemented with 37.5 g/t baicalin(BC),1,000 g/t probiotic cocktails(PC),or a combination of both BC(37.5 g/t)and PC(1,000 g/t).The results demonstrated that BC+PC exhibited positive synergistic effects,enhancing intestinal morphology,immune function,and barrier function.This was evidenced by increased VH/CD ratio,sIgA levels,and upregulated expression of occlu-din and claudin-1(P＜0.05).16S rRNA analysis indicated that PC potentiated the effects of BC,particularly in the ileum,where BC+PC significantly increased the α-diversity of the ileal microbiota,altered its β-diversity,and increased the relative abundance of Flavonifractor(P＜0.05),a flavonoid-metabolizing bacterium.Furthermore,Flavonifractor positively correlated with chicken ileum crypt depth(P＜0.05).While BC+PC had a limited effect on cecal micro-biota structure,the PC group had a very similar microbial composition to BC+PC,suggesting that the effect of PC at the distal end of the gut overshadowed those of BC.Conclusions We demonstrated the synergistic enhancement of gut health regulation in broiler chickens by combin-ing baicalin and probiotic cocktails.Probiotic cocktails enhanced the effects of baicalin and accelerated its metabo-lism in the ileum,thereby influencing the ileal microbiota structure.This study elucidates the interaction mechanism between probiotic cocktails and plant extract additives within the host microbiota.These findings provide compelling evidence for the future development of feed additive combinations.
基金项目
国家重点研发计划(2022YFD1300403)
国家重点研发计划(2021YFD1300404)
China Agriculture Research System program(CARS-40)
China Agriculture Research System program(CARS-41-G11)
北京市自然科学基金(6222036)
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据