Protective effects of dietary icariin on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute oxidative stress and hepatopancreas injury in Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis

To investigate the effects of dietary icariin (ICA) supplementation on acute oxidative stress and hepatopancreatic injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection in Eriocheir sinensis, an 8-week feeding trial of crabs was conducted using 4 diets with different supplementation levels of ICA (0, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg diet weight, respectively), and then challenged with LPS of 400 mu g/kg body weight for 6 h. Results showed that 100 mg/kg ICA supplementation increased the antioxidant capacity, reduced the stress-related indicators in haemolymph, strengthen the mitochondrial membrane potential, and reduce apoptosis compared to the single LPS-treated crabs. The expressions of apoptosis-related genes and proteins were also evaluated to further understand the effects of dietary ICA pretreatment on LPS-induced cell apoptosis. As a result, dietary 100 mg/kg diet weight ICA pre-addition significantly down-regulated the expression of HSP60, HSP70, Caspase 3c, Caspase 8, Caspase 3, Caspase 9, P38, and Bax (P < 0.05), and alleviated the suppressed expression of PI3K, AKT, MEK, and Bcl-2 (P < 0.05) in crabs challenged with LPS. Overall, this research reveals that ICA supplementation of 100 mg/kg diet weight could enhance the resistance to oxidative damage and apoptosis in E. sinensis facing LPS challenge.

Automated summary

This study found that dietary supplementation of 100 mg/kg of ICA enhanced the resistance of Eriocheir sinensis to oxidative damage and apoptosis induced by LPS challenge. It increased antioxidant capacity, reduced stress-related indicators, and alleviated cell apoptosis, along with regulating the expression of apoptosis-related genes and proteins.