Effects of Sea-Buckthorn Flavonoids on Growth Performance, Serum Inflammation, Intestinal Barrier and Microbiota in LPS-Challenged Broilers

The experiment investigated the effects of sea-buckthorn flavonoids (SF) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged broilers. A total of 288 one-day-old male broilers were randomly assigned to 4 groups, with 6 replicates of 12 broilers each. The experiment lasted for 20 days. The diet included two levels of SF (0 or 1000 mg/kg) and broilers intraperitoneally injected with 500 μg/kg LPS on 16, 18, and 20 days, or an equal amount of saline. LPS challenge decreased final body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake, increased feed-to-gain ratio, and elevated serum IL-1β, IL-2, TNF-α, D-LA, and endotoxin levels. Moreover, it resulted in a reduction in the IL-10 level. LPS impaired the intestinal morphology of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, down-regulated the mRNA relative expression of Occludin, ZO-1, and MUC-2 in the jejunum mucosa, up-regulated the mRNA relative expression of TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB, and IL-1β, and increased the relative abundance of