Antrodia cinnamomea polysaccharide improves liver antioxidant, anti-inflammatory capacity, and cecal flora structure of slow-growing broiler breeds challenged with lipopolysaccharide

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induces liver inflammatory response by activating the TLR4/NF-kappa B signaling pathway. Antrodia cinnamomea polysaccharide (ACP) is a medicinal mushroom that can protect from intoxication, liver injury, and inflammation. Nevertheless, the effect of ACP on the liver antioxidant, anti-inflammatory capacity and cecal flora structure of LPS-challenged broilers remains unclear. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of ACP on the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory capacities of the liver, and cecal microbiota in slow-growing broilers stimulated by LPS. A total of 750 slow-growing broilers (9-day-old) were assigned to five treatments with 6 replicates of 25 chicks per replicate: a control diet, the chicks were fed a control diet and challenged with LPS. Dietary treatments 3 to 5 were the control diet supplemented with 100, 200, 400 mg/kg ACP challenged with LPS, respectively. The groups of 100 mg/kg ACP supplementation significantly increased liver index, pancreas index, and bursa of Fabricius index (P < 0.05). The GSH-Px content of LPS-challenged broilers was lower than that of the control group (P < 0.001), but the content of MDA increased (P < 0.001). Feeding with 100 mg/kg ACP resulted in increased the activity of T-AOC, GSH-Px, and T-SOD, and decreased MDA content (P < 0.05). The activity of TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-6 of the LPS group increased, but these indicators were decreased with supplemental 100 mg/kg ACP (P < 0.05). Dietary application of ACP up to 100 mg/kg down-regulated (P < 0.05) the expression of TLR4/NF-kappa B pathway in the liver induced by LPS. The results of 16S rRNA demonstrated that feeding with 100 mg/kg ACP can change the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota, and restrained the decline of beneficial cecal microbiota (typically Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium, and Christensenellaceae R-7 group) in the challenged LPS group (P < 0.05). Conclusively, feeding a diet with 100 mg/kg ACP may have beneficial effects on liver damage and the bacterial microbiota diversity and composition in the ceca of LPS-stressed slow-growing broiler breeds, probably because of its combined favorable effects on antioxidants and cytokines contents, and restoration the decline of beneficial cecal microbiota.

Automated summary

The study found that Antrodia cinnamomea polysaccharide (ACP) can improve the liver's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities in broilers challenged with lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and also alter the diversity and composition of the cecal microbiota.