Lactobacillus salivarius and Berberine Alleviated Yak Calves’ Diarrhea via Accommodating Oxidation Resistance, Inflammatory Factors, and Intestinal Microbiota
by
,
Qing He
1,2, 
Sijia Lu
1,2,
Jia Wang
1,2,
Chang Xu
1,2,
Weijie Qu
3,
Shah Nawaz
4,
Farid Shokry Ataya
5,
Yi Wu
3,* and
Kun Li
1,2,*
1
College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
2
MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
3
College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, No. 452 Feng Yuan Road, Panlong District, Kunming 650201, China
4
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
5
Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2024, 14(16), 2419; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14162419
Submission received: 12 July 2024
/
Revised: 11 August 2024
/
Accepted: 15 August 2024
/
Published: 21 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Small Ruminants)
Simple Summary
Yaks are economically important food animals in the plateau regions of China, but bacterial diarrheal diseases frequently occur, with limited effective treatments. In this study, we investigated the effects of Lactobacillus salivarius and berberine on diarrheal yak calves. Our results showed that yaks treated with Lactobacillus salivarius and berberine had higher weight growth rates and lower diarrhea scores. Serum analysis indicated that these treatments increased the levels of T-AOC, SOD, GSH-Px, and IL-10 while reducing MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Microbiota sequencing identified significant changes in two phyla and twenty-seven genera, including beneficial genera, such as Faecalibaculum and Parvibacter, and harmful genera, like Marvinbryantia and Lachnospiraceae UCG-001. These findings provide novel insights for developing new therapies to combat ruminant diarrhea.
Abstract
Yaks are important food animals in China; however, bacterial diarrheal diseases frequently occur on the plateau, with limited effective therapies. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of Lactobacillus salivarius (LS) and berberine in alleviating diarrhea in yak calves. For this purpose, eighteen healthy yak calves were divided into control (JC), infected (JM), and treatment (JT) groups. Yaks in the JT group were treated with 2 × 1010 CFU/calf L. salivarius and 20 mg/kg berberine, and yaks in the JM and JT groups were induced with multi-drug-resistant Escherichia coli. The results showed that the weight growth rate in the JM group was significantly lower than that in the JC and JT groups. The diarrhea score in the JM group was significantly higher than that in both the JC and JT groups. Additionally, the contents of T-AOC, SOD, GSH-Px, and IL-10 were significantly lower in the JM group than those in the JC and JT groups, while MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were significantly higher in the JM group. Microbiota sequencing identified two phyla and twenty-seven genera as significant among the yak groups. Notably, probiotic genera such as Faecalibaculum and Parvibacter were observed, alongside harmful genera, including Marvinbryantia and Lachnospiraceae UCG-001. Our findings indicate that treatment with L. salivarius and berberine significantly reduced diarrhea incidence, improved growth performance, and positively modulated intestinal microbiota, which could provide novel insights for developing new therapies for ruminant diarrhea.
Keywords:
yak calves; diarrhea; Lactobacillus salivarius; berberine; microbiota
