Silphium perfoliatum Flavonoids Alleviate LPS-Induced Injury via Enhancing Intestinal Antioxidant Capacity, Barrier Function, and Regulating Cecal Microbiota in Broilers.

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This study investigated the effects of Silphium perfoliatum L. flavonoids ( SPF ) on growth performance, intestinal morphology, antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory responses, gut barrier function, and cecal microbiota in lipopolysaccharide ( LPS )-challenged broilers. 250 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly assigned to five groups: control (C), LPS (L), and LPS + SPF at 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg (SL1, SL2, SL3), with five replicates of 10 birds. Broilers in the LPS and SPF groups received 0.5 mg/kg LPS intraperitoneally on days 16, 18, and 20, while the control group received an equal volume of saline. SPF mitigated LPS-induced growth impairment, reducing feed-to-gain ratio ( F/G ) and improving average daily gain ( ADG ), villus height ( VH ), and villus height to crypt depth ratio ( VH/CD ) relative to the LPS group (all P < 0.001). SPF supplementation decreased malondialdehyde ( MDA , P < 0.001), increased glutathione peroxidase ( GSH-Px , P < 0.001) and total superoxide dismutase ( T-SOD , P = 0.011), elevated interleukin-4 ( IL-4 , P = 0.03), enhanced interleukin-10 ( IL-10 , P < 0.001), and reduced tumor necrosis factor-α ( TNF-α , P < 0.001). SPF downregulated jejunal Toll-like receptor 4 ( TLR4 ), myeloid differentiation factor 88 ( MyD88 ), nuclear factor kappa-B ( NF-κB ), and TNF-α mRNA expression (all P < 0.001) and upregulated tight junction genes zonula occludens-1 ( ZO-1 ) and occludin ( OCLN , both < 0.001), and claudin-1 ( CLDN1 , P = 0.002). SPF ameliorated LPS-induced decreases in cecal microbial diversity and abundances of beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus and Ruminococcus . These results indicate that dietary SPF effectively improves growth, gut health, antioxidant status, and anti-inflammatory responses in LPS-stressed broilers, supporting its potential as a natural alternative to antibiotics in poultry production.