Subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE), a common intestinal disease of broiler caused by Clostridium perfringens, could reduce production performance of broilers by chronic intestinal damage and poor absorption of nutrients. Ellagic acid (EA) has been reported to present antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties on human and animals in many aspects. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect and mechanism of EA in relieving SNE in broilers induced by C. perfringens. C. perfringens challenge decreased body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), jejunal villi height/crypt depth (V/C) ratio, the activity of catalase (CAT) and the mRNA expression of zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1) in jejunal mucosa of broilers. While feed conversion ratios (FCR), jejunal crypt depth (CD), the activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and diamine oxidase (DAO), as well as the concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) in serum, the activities of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and lysozyme (LZM), the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), and the mRNA expressions of claudin-2, TNF-α, IL-1β, TLR-4, TLR-2, NF-κB, JAK3, STAT6 and iNOS in jejunal mucosa of broilers were increased by C. perfringens challenge. Dietary EA supplement relieved these adverse effects, and heightened jejunal villi height (VH), the concentration of D-xylose in plasma, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the mRNA expression of occludin in jejunal mucosa of broilers. The alpha diversity of cecal microbiota indicated that dietary EA supplement increased observed species and Shannon index. C. perfringens challenge increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes and decreased the relative abundance of Desulfobacterota in cecal microbiota. EA increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes in cecal microbiota. LEfSe analysis showed that C. perfringens challenge triggered the imbalance of cecal microbiota in broilers, dietary EA supplementation led to a small beneficial effect on microbiota, while the simultaneous effect of them seemed to stimulate the immune function of broilers by improving the microbiota balance. Dietary EA ameliorated C. perfringens-induced SNE in broilers via regulating jejunal inflammation signaling pathways TLR/NF-κB and JAK3/STAT6, relieving jejunal oxidative stress and balancing cecal microbiota to inhibit intestinal barrier damage, prevent systemic inflammatory response and improve nutrient absorption capacity, finally protect and enhance growth performance of broilers.

中文翻译：

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膳食鞣花酸通过调节炎症和盲肠微生物群改善产气荚膜梭菌诱导的肉鸡亚临床坏死性肠炎

亚临床坏死性肠炎（SNE）是一种由产气荚膜梭菌引起的肉鸡常见肠道疾病，可因慢性肠道损伤和营养吸收不良而降低肉鸡的生产性能。据报道，鞣花酸 (EA) 在许多方面对人类和动物具有抗氧化和抗炎特性。本研究旨在评估电针在缓解产气荚膜梭菌诱导的肉鸡 SNE 中的作用和机制。产气荚膜梭菌攻击降低体重 (BW)、平均日增重 (ADG)、空肠绒毛高度/隐窝深度 (V/C) 比率、过氧化氢酶 (CAT) 活性和 zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1) 的 mRNA 表达) 在肉鸡的空肠黏膜中。而饲料转化率 (FCR)、空肠隐窝深度 (CD)、髓过氧化物酶 (MPO) 和二胺氧化酶 (DAO) 的活性，以及血清中白细胞介素6（IL-6）、C反应蛋白（CRP）和降钙素原（PCT）的浓度，诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS）和溶菌酶（LZM）的活性，丙二醛的浓度（产气荚膜梭菌攻击使肉鸡空肠黏膜中claudin-2、TNF-α、IL-1β、TLR-4、TLR-2、NF-κB、JAK3、STAT6和iNOS的mRNA表达增加。日粮补充 EA 可缓解这些不良反应，并提高肉鸡空肠绒毛高度 (VH)、血浆中 D-木糖浓度、超氧化物歧化酶 (SOD) 活性和 occludin 在肉鸡空肠黏膜中的 mRNA 表达。盲肠微生物群的 α 多样性表明膳食 EA 补充剂增加了观察到的物种和香农指数。C。perfringens 挑战增加了厚壁菌门的相对丰度并降低了盲肠微生物群中脱硫杆菌的相对丰度。EA 增加了盲肠微生物群中厚壁菌门的相对丰度。LEfSe分析表明，产气荚膜梭菌攻击引发了肉鸡盲肠微生物群的不平衡，日粮添加EA对微生物群的有益作用很小，而它们的同时作用似乎通过改善微生物群平衡来刺激肉鸡的免疫功能。日粮EA通过调节空肠炎症信号通路TLR/NF-κB和JAK3/STAT6改善产气荚膜梭菌诱导的肉鸡SNE，缓解空肠氧化应激，平衡盲肠菌群，抑制肠道屏障损伤，预防全身炎症反应，提高营养吸收能力,