Hawthorn Polysaccharide Alleviates Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppression and Intestinal Mucosal Injury in Mice

Immunosuppression and intestinal mucosal injury are relevant concerns in animal health.Plant-derived polysaccharides have attracted interest as potential immunomodulators, although evidence from experimental models requires further evaluation before veterinary application.This study evaluated the effects of hawthorn polysaccharide (HP) on cyclophosphamide (Cy)-induced immunosuppression and intestinal mucosal injury in mice.The results showed that HP alleviated Cy-induced systemic immunosuppression and intestinal mucosal injury, as reflected by improvements in immune organ indices, hematological parameters, mucosal morphology, goblet cell abundance, inflammatory and mucosal immune parameters, and barrier-related proteins.High-dose HP was also associated with changes in Cyrelated intestinal transcriptional profiles, particularly those involving cell-cycle-and proliferation-related processes, together with alterations in gut microbial composition.The associations among bacterial taxa, representative genes, and barrier indicators suggest that these responses occurred in parallel during HP intervention.Although the underlying causal relationships require further verification, the findings support further study of HP as a potential immunomodulator, with its relevance to veterinary use requiring evaluation in the intended animal species.