The synbiotic mixture of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans protects intestinal barrier dysfunction and apoptosis in weaned piglets challenged with lipopolysaccharide

Abstract

Background Lactulose as an effective prebiotic protects intestinal mucosal injury. Bacillus coagulans is widely used in feed additives because of its ability to promote intestinal health. Our previous study suggests that the combination of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans may be a good candidate as alternative for antibiotic growth promoters. However, the in vivo effects of lactulose and Bacilluscoagulans on growth and intestinal health under immune challenge in piglets remains unclear. The objective of this study is to explore the protective effects of synbiotic containing lactulose and Bacillus coagulans on the intestinal mucosal injury and barrier dysfunction under immune challenge in weaned piglets. Methods Twenty four weaned piglets were assigned to 4 groups. Piglets in the CON-saline and LPS-LPS group were fed the basal diet, while others were fed either with chlortetracycline (CTC) or synbiotic mixture of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans for 32 d before injection of saline or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Piglets were sacrificed 4 h after LPS injection to collect samples to determine intestinal morphology, integrity and barrier functions as well as relative genes and proteins. Results Our data showed that no differences were observed in the growth performance of the four test groups. LPS injection induced higher serum diamine oxidase activities, D-lactic acid levels, and endotoxin status, lower villus height and ratio of villus height to crypt depth, greater mRNA and lower protein expression related tight junction in both jejunum and ileum. In addition, a higher apoptosis index, and protein expression of Bax and caspase-3 were also observed in the LPS challenge group. Interestingly, dietary synbiotic mixture with lactulose and Bacillus coagulans protected against LPS-induced intestinal damage, barrier dysfunction and higher apoptosis as well as CTC. Conclusions Our data suggest that dietary supplementation of synbiotic mixture with lactulose and Bacillus coagulans showed resilience to LPS-induced intestinal morphological damage, barrier dysfunction and aggressive apoptosis in piglets as well as the protective effects of CTC. These results indicate that synbiotic mixture of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans showed beneficial effects on performance and resilience to acute immune stress in weaned piglets.

Cordyceps militaris Extract and Cordycepin Alleviate Oxidative Stress, Modulate Gut Microbiota and Ameliorate Intestinal Damage in LPS-Induced Piglets

“…Immune system dysfunction and the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms during the weaning period usually cause weaning stress, which reduces the growth performance of piglets, disrupts the intestinal microbiota, and causes intestinal dysfunction, diarrhea and even death [3,28]. Natural bioactive substance supplements can be an effective solution to alleviating weaning stress in piglets [29].…”

“…Therefore, it is essential to preserve the integrity and function of the intestinal barrier to ensure intestinal health [2]. However, piglets can be affected by various environmental and nutritional factors during growth, particularly during the weaning stage [3]. These factors can lead Antioxidants 2024, 13, 441 2 of 21 to intestinal injury, inflammatory responses, diarrhea, and even death [2,4], resulting in significant economic losses to livestock production.…”

Bacillus coagulans restores pathogen-induced intestinal dysfunction via acetate–FFAR2–NF-κB–MLCK–MLC axis in Apostichopus japonicus

“…In regard to producing SCFAs, the genus Bacillus is considered to be relatively common SCFA-producing bacteria ( 48 ). Although the ability of B. coagulans to produce SCFAs is rarely reported, B. coagulans , as a kind of probiotic, has been widely used in aquaculture production due to its beneficial effects on intestinal health ( 49 ). Our results also suggested that the colonization of B. coagulans AJI1 not only promotes intestinal acetate synthesis but also significantly restores the expression level of TJ proteins and intestinal epithelium integrity in SUS-diseased and GF A. japonicus.…”

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“…The findings of W. Zheng et al (2023) suggest that B. coagulans has prominent qualities as a probiotic. The researchers propose to use it for livestock production as a substitute for growth promoters and feed antibiotics.…”