Antioxidant activity of Lactobacillus plantarum JM113 in vitro and its protective effect on broiler chickens challenged with deoxynivalenol

The aim of this experiment was to study the antioxidant capacity of Lactobacillus plantarum JM113 isolated from healthy intestinal contents of Tibetan chicken and its protective effect on broiler chickens challenged with deoxynivalenol (DON). Compared with L. plantarum PZ01 and Enterococcus fecalis M23, L. plantarum JM113 demonstrated maximum reducing (P < 0.05) activity and resistance in the presence of 1.2 mmol/L hydrogen peroxide, and great scavenging ability (P < 0.05) against hydroxyl, superoxide anion, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals in vitro. For each strain, the antioxidant activities of live bacterial strains were greater (P < 0.05) than of cell free extracts and dead bacterial strains. To examine the antioxidant capacity of L. plantarum JM113 in vivo, 192 1-d-old Arbor Acres chicks were randomly divided into 4 treatments groups consisting of 6 replicates with 8 birds per replicate. The dietary treatments were 1) control; 2) control diet supplemented with L. plantarum JM113 at 1 × 109 cfu/kg; 3) control diet contaminated with DON at 10 mg/kg; 4) control diet contaminated with DON at 10 mg/kg and supplemented with L. plantarum JM113 at 1 × 109 cfu/kg. Dietary supplementation with DON decreased (P < 0.05) superoxide dismutase activity in serum and increased (P < 0.05) malondialdehyde in the jejunal mucosa of broilers, compared to the control. However, supplementation with L. plantarum JM113 to both the DON-contaminated diet and the control diet, caused a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in malondialdehyde activity in the jejunal mucosa. A reduction (P < 0.05) in expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 was observed in the jejunal mucosa of broilers fed dietary supplementation with DON, whereas the mRNA levels of Nrf2 and its corresponding downstream HO-1 gene increased (P < 0.05) with L. plantarum JM113 treatment. Addition of L. plantarum JM113 resulted in longer villi (P < 0.05), even in combination with DON compared to the DON group. L. plantarum JM113 treatment, especially in the DON plus L. plantarum JM113 group, up-regulated (P < 0.05) the expression of claudin-1 mRNA. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that the L. plantarum JM113 strain has great antioxidant activity and supplementation in feed protected the integrity of the intestinal barrier in broilers challenged with DON, suggesting its use for alleviation of negative effects of DON in poultry.