Application of Scutellariae radix, Gardeniae fructus, and Probiotics to Prevent Salmonella enterica Serovar Choleraesuis Infection in Swine

Synergetic response on herbal and probiotic applications: a review

Herbs and their by-products are important traditional medicines and food supplements; they provide numerous beneficial effects for animals. Consequently, probiotics are living cell organisms, nontoxic, and friendly microbes. Probiotics have numerous beneficial activities such as inhibition of pathogens, enhancement of the immune system, growth, disease resistance, improving water quality, reducing toxic effects, synthesis of vitamins, prevention of cancer, reduction of irritable bowel syndrome, and more positive responses in animals. Herbal and probiotic combinations have more active responses and produce new substances to enhance beneficial responses in animals. Herbal and probiotic mixture report is still limited applications for animals. However, the mechanisms by which they interact with the immune system and gut microbiota in animals are largely unclear. This review provides some information on the effect of herbal and probiotic blend on animals. This review discusses current research advancements to fulfill research gaps and promote effective and healthy animal production.

Effect of Gardenia Pomace Supplementation on Growth Performance, Blood Metabolites, Immune and Antioxidant Indices, and Meat Quality in Xiangcun Pigs

To investigate the effect of gardenia pomace (GP) as an unconventional feed of antioxidants, 180 Xiangcun pigs were randomly divided into 3 groups during the finishing period, with 6 replicates per group and 10 pigs per replicate. During the 47-day feeding period, the pigs were fed either a control diet based on corn and soybean meal (control group), or the control diet added with 50 g/kg or 100 g/kg GP (groups GP5 and GP10, respectively). Feed and water were provided ad libitum. One pig per replicate was slaughtered and sampled. The effects on growth performance, meat quality, digestibility, metabolism, and immunity and antioxidant properties of the pigs were investigated. The results showed that GP had no significant effect on the growth performance of Xiangcun pigs. Compared with the control group, the digestibility of crude ash, phosphorus, and crude fibre of pigs in the GP groups improved (p < 0.01), and the content of inosinic acid in the longissimus dorsi muscle increased (p < 0.05). The addition of GP to the diet significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in the liver and spleen, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in the longissimus dorsi muscle and spleen (p < 0.05). Additionally, it significantly reduced the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the liver and spleen (p < 0.05). The GP5 group had a higher inosinic acid content in the longissimus dorsi and lower levels of the inflammatory factor interleukin-2 and interleukin-8 than those in the other groups (p < 0.05). The GP10 group had a higher IgA level (p < 0.05). Adding different proportions of GP to the diet improved the a* and b* of the longissimus dorsi muscles of Xiangcun pigs (p < 0.05). In summary, GP, as an unconventional feed, improved the apparent digestibility of the diet and body antioxidant capacity in Xiangcun pigs during the finishing period and did not negatively affect the growth performance or meat quality.

Nonspecific protection of heat-inactivated Mycobacterium bovis against Salmonella Choleraesuis infection in pigs

Trained immunity is the capacity of innate immune cells to produce an improved response against a secondary infection after a previous unrelated infection. Salmonellosis represents a public health issue and affects the pig farming industry. In general, vaccination against salmonellosis is still facing problems regarding the control of distinct serovars. Therefore, we hypothesized that an immunostimulant based on heat inactivated Mycobacterium bovis (HIMB) could have an immune training effect in pigs challenged with Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis (S. Choleraesuis) and decided to explore the amplitude of this non-specific immune response. For this purpose, twenty-four 10 days-old female piglets were randomly separated in three groups: immunized group (n = 10) received orally two doses of HIMB prior to the intratracheal S. Choleraesuis-challenge, positive control group (n = 9) that was only challenged with S. Choleraesuis, and negative control group (n = 5) that was neither immunized nor infected. All individuals were necropsied 21 days post-challenge. HIMB improved weight gain and reduced respiratory symptoms and pulmonary lesions caused by S. Choleraesuis in pigs. Pigs immunized with HIMB showed higher cytokine production, especially of serum TNFα and lung CCL28, an important mediator of mucosal trained immunity. Moreover, immunized pigs showed lower levels of the biomarker of lipid oxidation malondialdehyde and higher activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase than untreated challenged pigs. However, the excretion and tissue colonization of S. Choleraesuis remained unaffected. This proof-of-concept study suggests beneficial clinical, pathological, and heterologous immunological effects against bacterial pathogens within the concept of trained immunity, opening avenues for further research.

Preparation, Antibacterial Potential, and Antibacterial Components of Fermented Compound Chinese Medicine Feed Additives

This experiment was conducted to compare the antibacterial ability and to identify the antibacterial components of different fermented compound Chinese medicine feed additives in order to develop one fermented compound Chinese medicine feed additive product that can effectively alleviate metritis, vaginitis, and mastitis of sows. The Oxford cup method and double dilution method were used to compare the antibacterial ability of three fermented compound Chinese medicine feed additives (A, B, and C). UHPLC-QE-MS-based untargeted metabolomics was used to identify the antibacterial components of fermented compound Chinese medicine feed additives. Results showed that among fermented compound Chinese medicine feed additives A, B, and C, additive A had the strongest ability to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella cholerae suis, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae. The MIC and MBC of additive A were the lowest for Staphylococcus aureus compared to that for the other three pathogens. The concentrations of 23 Chinese medicine ingredients (ellagic acid, guanine, camphor, L-valine, sinapine, dipropylphthalate, 3-hydroxy-5-isopropylidene-3,8-dimethyl-2,3,3a,4,5,8a-hexahydro-6(1H)-azulenone, 7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-8-[3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]-6-(3,4,5-trihydroxyoxan-2-yl)chromen-4-one, acetylcholine, farrerol, pyrogallol, ethyl gallate, demethylwedelolactone, methyl gallate, kaempferide, gallic acid, eriodictyol, threonic acid, inositol, 3′,4′,7-trihydroxyflavanone, taxifolin, asiatic acid, and isorhamnetin) in additive A were significantly (p &lt; 0.05 or p &lt; 0.01) higher than those in additive B, respectively. It is concluded that the mixture composed of 23 active components in fermented compound Chinese medicine feed additive A plays an important role in inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella cholerae suis, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae.

Dietary Flavone Baicalein Combinate with Genipin Attenuates Inflammation Stimulated by Lipopolysaccharide in RAW264.7 Cells or Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Mice via Regulating the Expression and Phosphorylation of AKT

Mounting evidence has shown that single-targeted therapy might be inadequate to achieve satisfactory effects. Thus, drug combinations are gaining attention as they can regulate multiple targets to obtain more beneficial effects. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a molecular chaperone that assists the protein assembly and folding of client proteins and maintains their stability. Interfering with the interaction between HSP90 and its client proteins by inhibiting the latter’s activity may offer a new approach toward combination therapy. The HSP90 client protein AKT plays an important role in the inflammatory response syndrome caused by infections. In this study, the dietary flavone baicalein was identified as a novel inhibitor of HSP90 that targeted the N-terminal ATP binding pocket of HSP90 and hindered the chaperone cycle, resulting in AKT degradation. Combining baicalein with genipin, which was extracted from Gardenia jasminoides, could inhibit the pleckstrin homology domain of AKT, significantly increasing the anti-inflammatory effects both in vitro and in vivo. This synergistic effect was attributed to the reduction in AKT expression and phosphorylation. Thus, elucidating the mechanism underlying this effect will provide a new avenue for the clinical application and development of synergistic anti-inflammatory drugs.

The Use of Chinese Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) and Its Extracts for Sustainable Animal Production

Simple Summary

With the increasing pressure to address the problems of bacterial resistance and drug residues, medicinal herbs are gradually taking a more important role in animal production. Scutellaria baicalensis is a common and widely used Chinese medicinal herb. The main bioactive compounds in the plant are baicalein and baicalin. These compounds have many biological functions including anti-oxidation, antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, and antitumor effects. S. baicalensis and its extracts can effectively promote animal growth, improve the production performance of dairy cows, reduce the stress and inflammatory response, and have effective therapeutic effects on diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and other pathogenic microorganisms. This paper summarizes the biological function of S. baicalensis and its application in sustainable animal production to provide a reference for future application of S. baicalensis and other medicinal herbs in animal production and disease treatment.

Abstract

Drugs have been widely adopted in animal production. However, drug residues and bacterial resistance are a worldwide issue, and thus the most important organizations (FAO, USDA, EU, and EFSA) have limited or banned the use of some drugs and the use of antibiotics as growth promoters. Natural products such as medicinal herbs are unlikely to cause bacterial resistance and have no chemical residues. With these advantages, medicinal herbs have long been used to treat animal diseases and improve animal performance. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the study of medicinal herbs. S. baicalensis is a herb with a high medicinal value. The main active compounds are baicalin and baicalein. They may act as antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiallergenic, antimicrobial, and antitumor agents. They also possess characteristics of being safe, purely natural, and not prone to drug resistance. S. baicalensis and its extracts can effectively promote the production performance of livestock and treat many animal diseases, such as mastitis. In this review, we summarize the active compounds, biological functions, and applications of S. baicalensis in the production of livestock and provide a guideline for the application of natural medicines in the production and treatment of diseases.

Effects of Multi-Strain Probiotics Combined with Gardeniae fructus on Intestinal Microbiota, Metabolites, and Morphology in Broilers

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a multi-strain probiotic combined with Gardeniae fructus on the growth performance, intestinal microbiota composition and metabolites, and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens. The dietary treatments included the basal diet without any antimicrobials (C), the basal diet supplemented with 10 ppm avilamycin (A), the basal diet supplemented with 0.1% multi-strain probiotics powder containing Lactobacillus acidophilus LAP5, L. fermentum P2, L. casei L21, and Pediococcus acidophilus LS (1×107 CFU/g) (P), and the basal diet supplemented with a mixture of 0.1% multi-strain probiotics and 0.05% herbal medicine G. fructus (PH). The results showed no significant differences in growth performance across all groups. A denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis indicated that the groups PH, P, and A exhibited an increase in the similarity coefficients of their intestinal microbial populations. The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that the relative concentrations of Firmicutes and Lactobacillus in the cecum and Bifidobacterium spp. in the ileum were higher in the groups PH, P, and A than in group C, and the diet supplemented with multi-strain probiotics combined with G. fructus decreased the concentrations of cecal Escherichia spp. and Clostridium perfringens. The broilers fed with multi-strain probiotics combined with G. fructus showed a significant increase (P<0.05) in the cecal short-chain fatty acids (total SCFA, acetic acid, and butyric acid) compared to the other groups. The treatment with antibiotics, multi-strain probiotics, or multi-strain probiotics combined with G. fructus increased the villus height/crypt depth ratio in the ileum of broilers. In conclusion, the supplementation of multi-strain probiotics combined with G. fructus was beneficial to the intestinal microflora composition, metabolites, and morphology in broilers.

Pteris multifida, Cortex phellodendri, and probiotics attenuated inflammatory status and immunity in mice with a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection

Pteris multifida (PM) and Cortex phellodendri (CP) are medicinal foods used for gastrointestinal protection. Lactic-acid bacteria are probiotics. Salmonella Typhimurium strain ST21-infected mice were used to examine the alleviative effects of two lactic-acid bacteria (LAB) as well as aqueous extracts of PM and CP for a 4-day treatment. CP and LAB decreased fecal ST counts. CP and PM reduced the ST21 count in the blood, intestine, and liver. LAB lowered the ST21 count in the intestine and spleen. CP and LAB decreased the IFN-gamma level; PM lowered the TNF-alpha level; and both LAB and PM reduced the IL-1beta level in serum. PM and CP lowered the IgG level in serum. The data in a macrophage infection model indicate that TNF-alpha was partial involved in this alleviative effects, other mechanisms might be involved. In sum, these novel findings suggest that PM, CP, and LAB probiotics are potential anti-Salmonellae agents.

Salmonella in Swine: Microbiota Interactions

For the important foodborne pathogen Salmonella enterica to cause disease or persist in pigs, it has evolved an intricate set of interactions between itself, the host, and the indigenous microflora of the host. S. enterica must evade the host's immune system and must also overcome colonization resistance mediated by the pig's indigenous microflora. The inflammatory response against S. enterica provides the bacteria with unique metabolites and is thus exploited by S. enterica for competitive advantage. During infection, changes in the composition of the indigenous microflora occur that have been associated with a breakdown in colonization resistance. Healthy pigs that are low-level shedders of S. enterica also exhibit alterations in their indigenous microflora similar to those in ill animals. Here we review the literature on the interactions that occur between swine, S. enterica, and the indigenous microflora and discuss methods to reduce or prevent colonization of pigs with S. enterica.

Synergistic effects of Bifidobacterium thermophilum RBL67 and selected prebiotics on inhibition of Salmonella colonization in the swine proximal colon PolyFermS model

Background

Probiotics and prebiotics are promising strategies to counteract Salmonella prevalence in swine. In the present study, we investigated the effects of prebiotics (fructo- (FOS), galacto- (GOS) and mannan- (MOS) oligosaccharides) and the bacteriocinogenic Bifidobacterium thermophilum RBL67 (RBL67) on Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium N-15 (N-15) colonization using the PolyFermS in vitro continuous fermentation model simulating the swine proximal colon.

Material and methods

The PolyFermS model was designed with a first-stage reactor containing immobilized fecal pig microbiota. This reactor continuously inoculated five parallel second-stage reactors, a control and four treatment reactors, all operated with proximal colon conditions. FOS and GOS (5.2 g/day), and MOS (half dosage) and RBL67 (10⁸ copy numbers/mL applied daily) were tested on the ability of N-15 to colonize reactors, inoculated with the same microbiota. Reactor effluents were collected daily and analyzed for microbial composition (quantitative PCR and 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene pool) and main metabolites (HPLC).

Results

RBL67 and N-15 were shown to stably colonize the system. Colonization of N-15 was strongly inhibited by FOS and GOS, whereas addition of RBL67 alone or combined with MOS showed intermediate results. However, the effect of FOS and GOS was enhanced when prebiotics were combined with a daily addition of RBL67. FOS and GOS increased the total short chain fatty acid production, especially acetate and propionate. RBL67 combined with FOS additionally stimulated butyrate production.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates the suitability of the porcine PolyFermS in vitro model to study nutritional effects of pro- and prebiotics on gut microbiota composition and activity. It can further be used to monitor Salmonella colonization. The inhibition effects of FOS and GOS on N-15 colonization are partly due to an increased acetate production, while further antimicrobial mechanisms may contribute to an enhanced inhibition with prebiotic-RBL67 combinations. A future direction of this work could be to understand the anti-Salmonella effects of Bifidobacterium thermophilum RBL67 in the presence of prebiotics to unravel the mechanism of this probiotic:pathogen interaction.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13099-014-0044-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Coptidis rhizome and Si Jun Zi Tang can prevent Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection in mice

Salmonella, a common zoonotic pathogen, causes gastroenteritis in both humans and animals. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used to improve gastrointestinal dysfunction and to modify the immune response to inflammation for centuries. This study used six herbal plants and four TCM formulae to rate their efficacy in preventing S. Typhimurium infection via mouse model. Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Coptidis rhizome (CR) against the reference strain tallied 12.5 mg/ml and against clinical isolate ST21 was 25 mg/ml. MBCs of other herbal extracts and formulae on Salmonella Typhimurium strains were above 50 mg/ml. In the mice model, CR and Si Jun Zi Tang (SJZT) could significantly decrease the bacterial load in organs and blood after being challenged, along with body weight loss due to the infection. CR and SJZT alleviated infection-induced interferon-gamma levels in the serum and tissues, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in intestinal tissues. CR and SJZT serum metabolites could suppress S. Typhimurium invasion and TNF-α expression in RAW264.7 cells. The therapeutic activity of CR and SJZT may involve berberine, ginsenoside Rb1, and glycyrrhizin, interfering with Salmonella when invading macrophages. CR and SJZT has shown potential in preventing S. Typhimurium infection through the regulation of the immune response.