Butyrate can modulate the immune response and energy expenditure of animals and enhance intestinal health. The present study investigated changes in the intestinal microbiota composition and serum ...metabolites of young broilers in response to 3,000 ppm butyrate in the form of butyrate glycerides (BG) via pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The dietary treatment did not affect the alpha diversity of intestinal microbiota, but altered its composition. Thirty-nine key operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in differentiating cecal microbiota community structures between BG treated and untreated chickens were also identified. Bifidobacterium was, in particular, affected by the dietary treatment significantly, showing an increase in not only the abundance (approximately 3 fold, P ≤ 0.05) but also the species diversity. The (NMR)-based analysis revealed an increase in serum concentrations of alanine, low-density and very low-density lipoproteins, and lipids (P ≤ 0.05) by BG. More interestingly, the dietary treatment also boosted (P ≤ 0.05) serum concentrations of bacterial metabolites, including choline, glycerophosphorylcholine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, trimethylamine-N-oxide, lactate, and succinate. In conclusion, the data suggest the modulation of intestinal microbiota and serum metabolites by BG dietary treatment and potential contribution of intestinal bacteria to lipid metabolism/energy homeostasis in broilers.
Butyrate has been shown to potently regulate energy expenditure and lipid metabolism in animals, yet the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate ...the molecular mechanisms of butyrate (in the form of butyrate glycerides, BG)-induced lipid metabolism at the level of gene expression in the jejunum and liver of broilers.
Two animal experiments were included in this study. In Experiment 1, two hundred and forty male broiler chickens were equally allocated into two groups: 1) basal diet (BD), 2) BG diets (BD + BG). Growth performance was compared between treatments for the 41-day trial. In Experiment 2, forty male broiler chickens were equally allocated into two groups. The general experimental design, group and management were the same as described in Experiment 1 except for reduced bird numbers and 21-day duration of the trial. Growth performance, abdominal fat deposition, serum lipid profiles as well as serum and tissue concentrations of key enzymes involved in lipid metabolism were compared between treatments. RNA-seq was employed to identify both differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and treatment specifically expressed genes (TSEGs). Functional clustering of DEGs and TSEGs and signaling pathways associated with lipid metabolism were identified using Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) and DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 6.7 (DAVID-BR). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were subsequently conducted to further examine the expression of genes in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) signaling pathway identified by DAVID-BR. Dietary BG intervention significantly reduced abdominal fat ratio (abdominal fat weight/final body weight) in broilers. The decreased fat deposition in BG-fed chickens was in accordance with serum lipid profiles as well as the level of lipid metabolism-related enzymes in the serum, abdominal adipose, jejunum and liver. RNA-seq analysis indicated that dietary BG intervention induced 79 and 205 characterized DEGs in the jejunum and liver, respectively. In addition, 255 and 165 TSEGs were detected in the liver and jejunum of BG-fed group, while 162 and 211 TSEGs genes were observed in the liver and jejunum of BD-fed birds, respectively. Bioinformatic analysis with both IPA and DAVID-BR further revealed a significant enrichment of DEGs and TSEGs in the biological processes for reducing the synthesis, storage, transportation and secretion of lipids in the jejunum, while those in the liver were for enhancing the oxidation of ingested lipids and fatty acids. In particular, transcriptional regulators of THRSP and EGR-1 as well as several DEGs involved in the PPAR-α signaling pathway were significantly induced by dietary BG intervention for lipid catabolism.
Our results demonstrate that BG reduces body fat deposition via regulation of gene expression, which is involved in the biological events relating to the reduction of synthesis, storage, transportation and secretion, and improvement of oxidation of lipids and fatty acids.
Aim of the study was to verify the effects of butyric acid glycerides, as a supplemental ingredient in the diet, on live performance of broiler chickens and on the morphology of their small ...intestine, since short chain fatty acids are known as selective protection factors against intestinal microbial parasites, potent growth promoters of the gut wall tissues, also in terms of immune modulation response.
An experiment was carried out on 150 Ross 308 female chickens, allotted to 5 treatments, over a 35 d ays period: the control, with soybean oil as the energy supplement, and 4 treatments with increasing amounts (0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 1% mixed feed) of a mixture of butyric acid glycerides (mono-, di- and tri-glycerides).
Treated animals showed a higher live weight at slaughtering (P<0.05) with a better feed conversion rate. The carcase characteristics were not influenced, but the small intestine wall resulted slightly modified with shorter villi, longer microvilli (P<0.01) and larger crypts depth in jejunum (P<0.01), only with lowest concentration of the supplement (0.2%).
It is concluded that butyric acid glycerides are an efficient supplement to broilers' diets, deserving particular attention as a possible alternative to antimicrobial drugs, which have been banned in Europe.
PDF
