Effects of Rhamnolipids on Growth Performance, Immune Function, and Cecal Microflora in Linnan Yellow Broilers Challenged with Lipopolysaccharides
Haoran Zhang,
Xiaorong Yu,
Qing Li,
Guangtian Cao,
Jie Feng,
Yuanyuan Shen,
Caimei Yang
Affiliations
Haoran Zhang
Key Laboratory of Applied Technology on Green-Eco-Healthy Animal Husbandry of Zhejiang Province, The Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Animal Health and Internet Technology, College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Animal Medicine, Zhejiang Agriculture & Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Xiaorong Yu
Key Laboratory of Applied Technology on Green-Eco-Healthy Animal Husbandry of Zhejiang Province, The Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Animal Health and Internet Technology, College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Animal Medicine, Zhejiang Agriculture & Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Qing Li
Key Laboratory of Applied Technology on Green-Eco-Healthy Animal Husbandry of Zhejiang Province, The Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Animal Health and Internet Technology, College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Animal Medicine, Zhejiang Agriculture & Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Guangtian Cao
College of Standardization, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
Jie Feng
College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Yuanyuan Shen
Key Laboratory of Applied Technology on Green-Eco-Healthy Animal Husbandry of Zhejiang Province, The Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Animal Health and Internet Technology, College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Animal Medicine, Zhejiang Agriculture & Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Caimei Yang
Key Laboratory of Applied Technology on Green-Eco-Healthy Animal Husbandry of Zhejiang Province, The Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Animal Health and Internet Technology, College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Animal Medicine, Zhejiang Agriculture & Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China
This present study aimed to investigate the effects of rhamnolipids (RLS) on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune function, short-chain fatty acid content, and microflora community in broiler chickens challenged with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). A total of 450 broiler chickens were randomly allocated into three groups: basal diet with no supplement (NCO), basal diet with bacitracin (ANT), and basal diet with rhamnolipids (RLS). After 56 d of feeding, 20 healthy broilers were selected from each group, with half being intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and the other half with normal saline. Treatments with LPS were labelled LPS-NCO, LPS-ANT, and LPS-RLS, whereas treatments with normal saline were labelled NS-NCO, NS-ANT, and NS-RLS. LPS-challenged birds had lower jejunal villus height and higher crypt depth than unchallenged birds. LPS-RLS broilers had increased jejunal villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio (V/C) but lower crypt depth than LPS-NCO. Dietary supplementation with RLS reduced the LPS-induced immunological stress. Compared with LPS-NCO, birds in LPS-RLS had lower concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. In LPS-challenged broilers, RLS and ANT increased the concentrations of IgA, IgM, and IgY compared with LPS-NCO. In LPS treatments, RLS enhanced the contents of acetic acid, butyrate, isobutyric acid, isovalerate, and valerate more than LPS-NCO birds. High-throughput sequencing indicated that RLS supplementation led to changes in the cecal microbial community of broilers. At the species level, Clostridium-sp-Marseille-p3244 was more abundant in NS-RLS than in NS-NCO broilers. In summary, RLS improved the growth performance and relative abundance of cecal microbiota and reduced the LPS-induced immunological stress in broiler chickens.
