Effects of Dietary Koumine on Growth Performance, Intestinal Morphology, Microbiota, and Intestinal Transcriptional Responses of Cyprinus carpio

Abstract

Gelsemium elegans Benth. (GEB) is a traditional medicinal plant in China, and acts as a growth promoter in pigs and goats. Koumine (KM) is the most abundant alkaloid in GEB and produces analgesic, anti-cancer, and immunomodulatory effects. KM can be used as an aquatic immune stimulant, but its growth-promoting effects and transcriptional mechanisms have not been investigated. Diets containing KM at 0, 0.2, 2, and 20 mg/kg were fed to Cyprinus carpio for 71 days to investigate its effects on growth performance, intestinal morphology, microflora, biochemical indicators, and transcriptional mechanisms. Cyprinus carpio fed with KM as the growth promoter, and the number of intestinal crypts and intestinal microbial populations were influenced by KM concentration. KM increased the abundance of colonies of Afipia, Phyllobacterium, Mesorhizobium, and Labrys, which were associated with compound decomposition and proliferation, and decreased the abundance of colonies of pathogenic bacteria Methylobacterium-Methylorubrum. A total of 376 differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) among the four experimental groups were enriched for transforming growth factor-β1 and small mother against decapentaplegic (TGF-β1/Smad), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and janus kinases and signal transducers and activators of transcription (Jak/Stat) signaling pathways. In particular, tgfbr1, acvr1l, rreb-1, stat5b, smad4, cbp, and c-fos were up-regulated and positively correlated with KM dose. KM had a growth-promoting effect that was related to cell proliferation driven by the TGF-β1/Smad, MAPK, and Jak/Stat signaling pathways. KM at 0.2 mg/kg optimized the growth performance of C. carpio, while higher concentrations of KM (2 and 20 mg/kg) may induce apoptosis without significantly damaging the fish intestinal structure. Therefore, KM at low concentration has great potential for development as an aquatic growth promotion additive.

Effect of Dietary <i>Gelsemium elegans</i> Benth. Extract on the Growth, Slaughter Performance, Meat Quality, Intestinal Morphology, and Microflora of Yellow-Feathered Chickens

“…Similarly, koumine pretreatment reduced the MDA content significantly and inhibited apoptosis in intestinal porcine enterocytes induced with H 2 O 2 [34]. Dietary koumine also reduced MDA in the intestine of common carp [35].…”

Inhibition of CYP1A1 Alleviates Colchicine-Induced Hepatotoxicity

“…CYP1A1 is a monooxygenase whose activation can lead to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cause oxidative stress, which is a critical factor in hepatotoxicity [ 10 ]. Several reports have shown that AHRs are associated with pyroptosis and that the pyroptosis pathway is inhibited when AHRs or CYP1A1 is inhibited [ 30 , 31 ]. CYP1A1 is the key metabolic enzyme and target in many liver diseases, such as drug-induced liver injury and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [ 9 , 32 ].…”

The gut-liver axis in fatty liver disease: role played by natural products

“…Koumine (KM), derived from the stem and leaves of Gelsemium elegans (Gardner & Champ.) Benth., has significant anti-inflammatory effects antitumor, antioxidant, immunomodulatory and hepatoprotective effects ( Wang et al, 2022 ; Que et al, 2023 ). Its immunomodulatory effect on rats with NAFLD has been demonstrated in recent years.…”