Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (2): 825-836.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.02.038

• CLINICAL VETERINARY MEDICINE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Supplement of Shenling Baizhu Powder to Offspring Rats during Sucking Improved Intestinal Dyshomeostasis Induced by Antibiotics

ZHANG Wenchang1, WANG Zhihua1, LIAN Jiale1, QU Qian1, Lü Weijie1, CHEN Shu'ai2, GUO Shining1*   

  1. 1. College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China;
    2. Shandong Juxian Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Management Service Center, Juxian 276500, China
  • Received:2022-01-17 Online:2023-02-23 Published:2023-02-21

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of Shenling Baizhu powder on improving intestinal homeostasis and relieving weaning stress of newborn rats. Nine pregnant SD rats were randomly divided into three groups, including blank group (CON), antibiotics group (ABX) and Shenling Baizhu powder group (SLBZS). After delivery, antibiotics were added to the drinking water of the female rats in ABX group and SLBZS group, the female rats in CON group were treated normally, and the offsprings in SLBZS group were gavaged with Shenling Baizhu powder decoction for 7 consecutive days from the 14th day after delivery, the offsprings in CON group and ABX group were gavaged with the same amount of normal saline. On day 14 and day 21 after delivery, the fecal samples of the offsprings in each group were collected and analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Western blot was used to detect the expression of ZO-1 and Occludin proteins in the colon of the offsprings. Moreover, the histopathological changes of the colon section were detected by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The results showed that the intestinal microbial diversity in ABX group was significantly lower than that in CON group (P<0.05), and the Shenling Baizhu powder treatment reduced the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria, such as Enterococcus, Sutterella, and Shigella, while increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Blautia and Akkermansia. The expression of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and Occludin in colon of offspring rats were significantly lower than CON group (P<0.05). After treated with Shenling Baizhu powder, the gut barrier of offspring rats had been improved. The histopathological section of the colon showed obvious inflammatory cell infiltration in the ABX group, while the inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced in the SLBZS group. In conclusion, the use of antibiotics in maternal rats during the period of lactation could change the gut microbes structure in offspring rats, which may affect the permeability of the intestinal mucosa, and has the potential to promote intestinal inflammation. The use of Shenling Baizhu powder on sucking rats could modulate the structure of gut microbiota and increase the expression level of intestinal tight junction protein ZO-1 and Occludin, thus improving the health of intestinal.

Key words: Shenling Baizhu powder, intestinal microbiota, mucosal barrier, weaning stress

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