Effects of dietary supplementation of fermented Artemisia argyi on growth performance, slaughter performance, and meat quality in broilers.

Artemisia argyi (AA) is promising as a potential feed additive. Microbial fermentation is beneficial to the degradation of cell walls and the better release of bioactive compounds of AA. However, there are few reports on the application of fermented AA as a feed additive for broilers. The present study intended to evaluate the application value of fermented AA as a feed additive for broilers by examining the effects of the dietary supplementation of Aspergillus niger-fermented AA and unfermented AA on growth performance, slaughter performance, and meat quality of brokers. A total of 360 newly hatched (1-day-old) broilers with similar body weight were randomly divided into the following 5 groups: basal diet group as control (C) group, basal diet +3% unfermented AA (E1) group, basal diet + 1% fermented AA (E2) group, basal diet + 3% fermented AA (E3) group, basal diet + 5% fermented AA (E4) group. Each group included 6 replicates with 12 broilers per replicate, and the feeding trail lasted for 48 d. Body weight and feed intake were recorded every 2 wk, and the feed gain ratio was calculated to assess growth performance. At 42 d, 6 broilers from each group were slaughtered, and the carcass traits were calculated. The results showed that compared with the control group, Aspergillus Niger could effectively destroy AA fiber, which contributed to better release of AA bioactive compounds. Moreover, dietary supplementation with AA could improve the growth performance of broilers (P < 0.05), and the effect of fermented AA was better than unfermented AA, especially 3% fermented AA. From 28 to 42 d, compared with the control group, the average daily gain of broilers in the group supplementation with 3% fermented AA was significantly increased (P < 0.05), and the feed-to-gain ratio was decreased (P < 0.05). At 42 d, the dressing percentage, half-eviscerated carcass percentage, eviscerated carcass percentage, and breast muscle percentage of broilers in the groups of 1, 3, and 5% fermented AA diets were significantly improved (P < 0.05), and the thigh muscle percentage of broilers in the group with 3% fermented AA diets was significantly improved (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the meat quality of broilers in the group with fermented AA diets was also significantly improved. Birds in AA groups had higher a* value and lower shear force of breast muscle, especially the group supplementation with 3% fermented AA (P < 0.05). In conclusion, fermented AA has good application value as a potential feed additive for broilers, dietary supplementation of fermented AA can improve the production performance and meat quality of broiler chickens, of which 3% fermented AA is more effective.

Diet supplementation with sodium pyruvate increases sleep time and lifespan in Drosophila model.

Sodium pyruvate is a natural metabolite commonly used in biological fields, including cell culture. This study investigated the effects of sodium pyruvate on the lifespan and other physiological characters of Drosophila melanogaster, by measuring feeding, fecundity, and spontaneous activity. The results indicated that 0.2 mol/L of sodium pyruvate increased the median lifespan of female flies by 8.33%. Moreover, the group sleep duration of female flies significantly increased by 53.98% when exposed to the sodium pyruvate concentration. However, the intake of sodium pyruvate did not significantly affect the fecundity or food intake of female flies. Our results also show that the effect of extending lifespan and increasing sleep time was dose-dependent and sex-specific. Our data provides the role of sodium pyruvate as an insect culture additive by enhancing survival.

Underlying mechanism of Qiling Jiaogulan Powder in the treatment of broiler ascites syndrome.

Broiler ascites syndrome (AS), is a nutritional and metabolic disease that occurs in fast-growing commercial broiler chickens. AS can cause poor growth and a significant increase in the rate of broiler deaths, which has resulted in serious economic losses to the poultry industry. The classic traditional Chinese medicine Qiling Jiaogulan Powder (QLJP) has been demonstrated to have a certain therapeutic effect on broiler AS. However, its pharmacological mechanism remains to be elucidated. This study was performed to investigate the multitarget action mechanism of QLJP in the treatment of broiler AS based on network pharmacology analysis using a broiler AS model. First, all chemical components and targets of QLJP were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Analysis Platform (TCMSP). Targets related to broiler AS were further obtained through the GeneCards database and the NCBI Gene sub-database. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. Then, enrichment analyses were performed to predict the potential mechanisms of QLJP in the treatment of broiler AS. Finally, the treatment effect of QLJP on AS was verified in a broiler AS model. Network pharmacology analysis generated 49 active ingredients and 167 core targets of QLJP, and a QLJP-single drug-target-disease network was successfully constructed. Gene enrichment analysis indicated that the core targets have played major roles in the Cell cycle, FOXO signaling pathways, etc. We demonstrated that QLJP improved clinical and organ damage symptoms and significantly reduced the ascites heart index in broilers with AS induced by administration of high-energy, high-protein diets and high-sodium drinking water in a low-temperature environment. QLJP may regulate lung oxidative stress, the cell cycle and apoptosis by activating the FOXO3a signaling pathway to interfere with the occurrence and development of AS in broilers. QLJP administration may be a good clinical strategy for the prevention and treatment of broiler AS.

Pulmonary delivery of liposomes co-loaded with SN38 prodrug and curcumin for the treatment of lung cancer.

A co-delivery system of SN38 (7-ethyl-10-hydroxyl camptothecin) prodrug and CUR (curcumin) was designed for the treatment of lung cancer by pulmonary delivery. SN38 was linked to cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) TAT via a polyethylene glycol (PEG) linker to form the SN38 prodrug (TAT-PEG-SN38). Liposomes co-loaded with amphiphilic TAT-PEG-SN38 and curcumin (Lip-TAT-PEG-SN38/CUR) were successfully prepared by a microfluidic method for the treatment of lung cancer via pulmonary delivery. Lip-TAT-PEG-SN38/CUR showed nanometer-sized sphericity and a particle size of 171.21 nm. Besides, Lip-TAT-PEG-SN38/CUR exhibited enhanced antiproliferative effect, increased cell apoptosis induction and improved cell cycle arrest compared to the single agents in vitro. The combination induced significant tumor inhibition in a BALB/c mouse lung cancer model. These results indicated that our SN38 prodrug and curcumin co-delivery system was a promising candidate for lung cancer treatment.

Effect of Qiling Jiaogulan Powder on Pulmonary Fibrosis and Pulmonary Arteriole Remodeling in Low-Temperature-Exposed Broilers.

Chinese herbal medicine plays an important role in regulating the nutritional metabolism of poultry and maintaining or improving normal physiological functions and animal health. The present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with Qiling Jiaogulan Powder (QLJP) on pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary arteriole remodeling in low temperature-exposed broilers. Seven-day-old Ross 308 broilers (n = 240) were reared adaptively to 14 days of age. The broilers were randomly divided into six groups: A control group (basal diet and normal feeding temperature); model group (basal diet); low-, medium- and high-dose QLJP groups (basal diet supplemented with 1 g/kg, 2 g/kg, 4 g/kg QLJP); and L-Arg group (basal diet supplemented with 10 g/kg L-arginine). Additionally, all the broilers, except the broilers in the control group, from the age of 14 days old, had a house temperature continuously lowered by 2 °C each day until it reached 12 °C at 21 days of age, and the low temperature was maintained until the end of the experiment. There were four replicates per group and 10 birds per replicate. The results showed that the structure of the lung tissue was clearer and basically intact in the broilers in the QLJP groups, with a small number of collagen fibers formed, and the content of hydroxyproline (HYP) was significantly reduced. QLJP improved pulmonary arteriole lesions, such as tunica media thickening, intimal hyperplasia, arterial wall hypertrophy, and lumen narrowing. QLJP reduced the relative media thickness (%) and relative medial area (%) of the pulmonary arteriole, and significantly decreased the expression level of the alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) protein in pulmonary arteriole, which alleviated pulmonary arteriole remodeling. The quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results showed that QLJP treatment significantly reduced the gene and protein levels of transforming growth factor-beta l (TGF-ß1) and Smad2 in the lung and downregulated the gene and protein levels of collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1) and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2). In conclusion, the results of our study suggested that dietary supplementation with QLJP improved pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary arteriole remodeling by inhibiting the expression of genes related to the TGF-ß1/Smad2 signaling pathway and inhibited the occurrence and development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in low-temperature-exposed broilers.

Toward improved human health: efficacy of dietary selenium on immunity at the cellular level.

Selenium, an essential trace element in the body, participates in various biological processes in the form of selenoproteins. In humans, a suitable concentration of selenium is essential for maintaining normal cellular function. Decreased levels of selenoproteins can lead to obstruction of the normal physiological functions of tissues and cells and even death. In addition, the level of selenium in the body affects cellular immunity, humoral immunity, and the balance between type 2 and type 1 helper T cells. Selenium can affect the immune function of the body through the reactive oxygen species (ROS), NF-κB, ferroptosis and NRF2 pathways. This paper reviews the immune effect of selenium on the body and the process of signal transduction and aims to serve as a reference for follow-up studies of immune function and research on the development of new selenium compounds and active targets.

Tissue distribution and developmental changes of ghrelin and GOAT expression in broiler chickens during embryogenesis.

Ghrelin plays important roles, such as regulating growth hormone release and energy metabolism, but little is known about its developmental changes in the proventriculi of chicken embryos. This study was designed to elucidate the distributions and developmental changes of ghrelin and ghrelin-O-acyltransferase (GOAT) expression in broiler embryos using qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrated the following: (1) on E18, ghrelin and GOAT are ubiquitously expressed in every tissue examined. The expression level of ghrelin mRNA was the highest in the proventriculus, reaching a level that was 50-fold higher than that in the hypothalamus, while GOAT mRNA expression was low in the proventriculus and it was only 67.6% as high as that of hypothalamus; (2) ghrelin and GOAT mRNA expression were detected in the proventriculus on E9, but only at 1.9% and 1.7% of the level expressed on E18, respectively, and their expression levels increased rapidly from E18 to E21. There was similar developmental pattern in the ghrelin and GOAT mRNA expression; and (3) ghrelin-immunopositive cells were first detected in the proventriculus on E15, were located only in the compound tubular glands of the proventriculus, and were of the closed-cell type. The density of ghrelin-immunopositive cells increased significantly from E15 to E21. These results suggest that ghrelin may be an important regulating factor that plays a vital role during the development of chicken embryos.