Protective effects of Ganoderma triterpenoids on cadmium-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory injury in chicken livers

Several studies have been conducted on liver damage caused by cadmium, but few on the protective effects of Ganoderma triterpenoids against liver damage due to cadmium. This experiment was designed to evaluate the protective effects of Ganoderma triterpenoids on the liver damage induced by cadmium in chickens. Eighty healthy seven-day-old Hyline male egg-laying chickens were randomly divided into four groups with 20 chickens in each group. All the experiments were carried out in triplicate. The control group (K group) was fed a basal diet, the Cadmium group (Cd group) was fed a basal diet with 140 mg/kg of CdCl2, the Ganoderma triterpenoids treatment group (Cd + GT group) was fed with a full-fodder diet containing 140 mg/kg of CdCl2 and 0.5 mL of Ganoderma triterpenoids solution (20 mg/mL), and the Ganoderma triterpenoids group (GT group) was fed a basal diet and 0.5 mL of Ganoderma triterpenoids solution (20 mg/mL). At the 20th, 40th, and 60th days, fifteen chickens were randomly selected for euthanasia in each group. Livers were quickly removed and stored on ice. Some indicators, such as the cadmium content in the liver, antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)) activities, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and inflammatory factors (Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL-113 and 1L-6)), heat shock protein (HSP27, 40, 60, 70, and 90) mRNA levels, and protein levels of heat shock proteins (HSP60, 70, and 90) were detected, and chicken liver pathology was taken for each group every 60 days. The results showed that cadmium exposure caused accumulation of cadmium in liver tissue, inhibited antioxidant enzyme activity, and increased MDA content, inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha IL-113 and IL-6), and heat shock protein (HSP27, 40, 60, 70, and 90) mRNA levels, and heat shock protein (HSP60, 70, and 90) levels, with severe tissue damage and inflammatory infiltrates. Ganoderma triterpenoids not only reduced the accumulation of cadmium in the chicken liver, but also significantly increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes which is inhibited by cadmium, reduced the content of MDA, mRNA expressions of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha IL-113 and IL-6), and heat shock proteins (HSP27, 40, 60, 70, and 90), and protein levels of heat shock proteins (HSP60, 70, and 90). Simultaneously, pathological tissue sections showed that the pathological damage of the liver tissue was significantly reduced. The results showed that Ganoderma triterpenoids can significantly reduce the accumulation of cadmium in the liver of chicken, thereby reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.