This study systematically evaluated the protective effects of chlorogenic acid (CGA) against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress in laying hens. It demonstrated that CGA improves production performance and intestinal health by enhancing antioxidant capacity, suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, and restoring tight junction proteins and beneficial microbiota. These findings provide novel theoretical support for the application of natural antioxidants in poultry health management.
Literature Overview
This article, 'Dietary chlorogenic acid enhances intestinal barrier function and modulates cecal microbiota in laying hens under H2O2-induced oxidative stress,' published in Poultry Science, reviews the protective effects of chlorogenic acid (CGA) against oxidative stress-induced intestinal injury and microbiota dysbiosis in laying hens. The study established an oxidative stress model through H2O2 injection combined with dietary CGA intervention, assessing its impact on intestinal structure, barrier integrity, oxidative stress markers, immune factor expression, and cecal microbiota.
Background Knowledge
Oxidative stress is a prevalent health challenge in poultry production, associated with environmental stressors, mycotoxin exposure, and aging. Intestinal barrier integrity plays critical roles in maintaining poultry health and production performance. Tight junction proteins (e.g., occludin, claudin-1, ZO-1) and antioxidant enzymes (e.g., T-SOD, CAT, GSH-Px) serve as key indicators for evaluating intestinal barrier and oxidative stress status. Additionally, gut microbiota dynamics strongly correlate with host health, where reductions in probiotic species (e.g., Bacteroides_caecicola, Oscillibacter) and expansions of pathogenic bacteria (e.g., Synergistaceae, Treponema) may trigger intestinal inflammation and barrier disruption. This study fills the knowledge gap regarding CGA's intestinal protective effects in poultry and provides experimental evidence for natural antioxidants as feed additives.
Research Methods and Experiments
The study employed 240 43-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens divided into four groups: control, H2O2, 600 mg/kg CGA, and 600 mg/kg CGA + H2O2. The 14-week experimental period included a 2-week adaptation and 12-week treatment phase. H2O2 injection (1 mL/kg BW) was administered on day 64 and 78. Intestinal tissues were collected for histological analysis, antioxidant capacity measurement, immune factor qRT-PCR, and intestinal barrier gene expression analysis. Cecal contents underwent 16S rRNA sequencing to analyze microbiota composition. Serum DAO, LPS, and IgG levels were determined to assess intestinal permeability and systemic immune status.
Key Conclusions and Perspectives
Research Significance and Prospects
This research provides solid experimental evidence for CGA's application in poultry intestinal health, demonstrating its efficacy in alleviating oxidative stress, regulating microbial homeostasis, and enhancing production performance. Future studies should explore CGA's broad protective effects across different stress models and its scalable application in poultry production.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this study systematically evaluated dietary chlorogenic acid's impact on intestinal barrier function and microbiota in H2O2-induced oxidative stress laying hen models. Results demonstrate that CGA effectively mitigates oxidative intestinal injury, improves structural and barrier integrity, modulates immune homeostasis, and restores microbiota balance. These findings provide theoretical support for natural antioxidant application in poultry feed and establish foundations for CGA's mechanistic research and practical development in intestinal health. Future investigations should focus on optimizing CGA dosage and long-term effects across diverse poultry production systems, as well as its roles in gut-systemic axis interactions.
