Supplemental magnolol or honokiol attenuates adverse effects in broilers infected with Salmonella pullorum by modulating mucosal gene expression and the gut microbiota

Background:Salmonella pullorum is one of the most harmful pathogens to avian species.Magnolol and honokiol,natural compounds extracted from Magnolia officinalis,exerts anti-inflammatory,anti-oxidant and antibacterial activities.This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplemental magnolol and honokiol in broilers infected with S.pullorum.A total of 360 one-day-old broilers were selected and randomly divided into four groups with six replicates:the negative control group(CTL),S.pullorum-infected group(SP),and the S.pulloruminfected group supplemented with 300 mg/kg honokiol(SPH)or magnolol(SPM).Results:The results showed that challenging with S.pullorum impaired growth performance in broilers,as indicated by the observed decreases in body weight(P<0.05)and average daily gains(P<0.05),along with increased spleen(P<0.01)and bursa of Fabricus weights(P<0.05),serum globulin contents,and the decreased intestine villus height and villus/crypt ratios(P<0.05).Notably,supplemental magnolol and honokiol attenuated these adverse changes,and the effects of magnolol were better than those of honokiol.Therefore,we performed RNA-Seq in ileum tissues and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of ileum bacteria.Our analysis revealed that magnolol increased the α-diversity(observed species,Chao1,ACE,and PD whole tree)and β-diversity of the ileum bacteria(P<0.05).In addition,magnolol supplementation increased the abundance of Lactobacillus(P<0.01)and decreased unidentified Cyanobacteria(P<0.05)both at d 14 and d 21.Further study confirmed that differentially expressed genes induced by magnolol and honokiol supplementation enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions,in the intestinal immune network for IgA production,and in the cell adhesion molecule pathways.Conclusions:Supplemental magnolol and honokiol alleviated S.pullorum-induced impairments in growth performance,and the effect of magnolol was better than that of honokiol,which could be partially due to magnolol’s ability to improve the intestinal microbial and mucosal barrier.