This study demonstrates that dietary supplementation with chlorogenic acid (CGA) effectively alleviates the adverse effects of H2O2-induced oxidative stress on intestinal structure, barrier function, and cecal microbiota in laying hens. CGA enhances antioxidant capacity while improving intestinal immune function and microbial balance, offering novel strategies for poultry nutrition and health management.
Literature Overview
The article "Dietary chlorogenic acid enhances intestinal barrier function and modulates cecal microbiota in laying hens under H2O2-induced oxidative stress," published in the journal Poultry Science, reviews and summarizes the role of dietary chlorogenic acid (CGA) in mitigating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress in laying hens. Through experimental validation, the study investigates CGA's protective mechanisms on intestinal barrier integrity, antioxidant capacity, immune regulation, and cecal microbiota. The findings highlight CGA's potential in poultry health management, particularly in improving intestinal health and microbial homeostasis.
Background Knowledge
Oxidative stress represents a common health challenge in poultry farming, affecting immune function, production performance, and intestinal barrier stability. As a natural antioxidant, chlorogenic acid—abundantly present in various herbal medicines—is known for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and gut microbiota-regulating properties. Intestinal health in laying hens directly impacts egg production rates and quality, while oxidative stress often causes increased intestinal permeability, microbial imbalance, and immune response dysregulation. This study focuses on CGA's effects on H2O2-induced hen models to elucidate its mechanisms in intestinal barrier repair and microbiota modulation. Current research in this field emphasizes antioxidants and gut health, but systematic evaluations of CGA in poultry remain limited. This work thus provides theoretical foundations for developing novel nutritional supplements for avian species.
Research Methods and Experiments
The study utilized 240 forty-three-week-old brown-shell laying hens divided into four groups receiving either basal diets or basal diets supplemented with 600 mg/kg CGA. On days 64 and 78, oxidative stress was induced via intraperitoneal injection of H2O2 in exposed groups and CGA+H2O2 co-treated groups. Protective effects of CGA were evaluated by measuring intestinal morphology (villus height, crypt depth), antioxidant enzyme activity (T-SOD, CAT, GSH-Px), intestinal barrier protein expression (occludin, ZO-1), inflammatory cytokines (TLR4, TNFα, IL-10), and cecal microbiota composition.
Key Conclusions and Perspectives
Research Significance and Prospects
This study systematically reveals CGA's intestinal protective effects in egg-laying hen oxidative stress models, providing scientific evidence for its application as a natural feed additive. Future research should explore CGA's dose-response effects in different poultry species and its long-term impacts on intestinal homeostasis. Additionally, synergistic interactions between CGA and probiotics, or its potential in gut-immune axis regulation, warrant further investigation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this research confirms dietary chlorogenic acid's significant role in alleviating H2O2-induced oxidative stress in laying hens. CGA enhances intestinal structural integrity and barrier function while effectively regulating immune responses and cecal microbiota balance. These findings offer new insights into antioxidant nutrition management for poultry and demonstrate promising applications of natural plant extracts in avian feed. Future studies should expand to examine CGA's effects across different physiological stages and evaluate combinatorial interventions with prebiotics or probiotics.
