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. 2024 Aug 19;14(16):2402.
doi: 10.3390/ani14162402.

Regulatory Effects of Alhagi Honey Small-Molecule Sugars on Growth Performance and Intestinal Microbiota of Lambs

Jianlong Li  1   2 , Tuerhong Kudereti  1   2 , Adelijiang Wusiman  1   2 , Saifuding Abula  1   2 , Xiaodong He  1   2 , Jiaxin Li  1   2 , Yang Yang  1   2 , Qianru Guo  1   2 , Qingyong Guo  1   2
Affiliations

Regulatory Effects of Alhagi Honey Small-Molecule Sugars on Growth Performance and Intestinal Microbiota of Lambs

Jianlong Li et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The present study was designed to assess the impact of Alhagi honey small-molecule sugars (AHAS) on Hu lambs. Therefore, in this study, AHAS low-dose (AHAS-L, 200 mg/ kg per day), AHAS medium-dose (AHAS-M, 400 mg/kg per day), and AHAS high-dose (AHAS-H, 800 mg/kg per day) were administered to Hu lambs to investigate the regulatory effects of AHAS on growth performance, oxidation index, immune system enhancement, and intestinal microbiota. The results showed that lambs in the AHAS-H group exhibited significantly increased in average daily weight gain, and growth performance compared to those in the control group (p < 0.05). Moreover, AHAS-H supplementation resulted in increased levels of serum antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GSH-Px, and T-AOC), serum antibodies (IgA, IgG, and IgM), and cytokines (IL-4, 10,17, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, it increased the quantity and richness of beneficial bacteria at such as Sphingomonas, Ralstonia, and Flavobacterium, activating various metabolic pathways and promoting the production of various short-chain fatty acids. In summary, our findings highlight the potential of AHAS-H treatment in enhancing intestinal health of lambs by improving intestinal function, immunity, and related metabolic pathways. Consequently, these results suggest that AHAS holds promising potential as a valuable intervention for optimizing growth performance and intestinal health in lambs.

Keywords: Alhagi honey small molecule sugar; growth performance; immune function; intestinal microbiota; lamb.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Composition and structural analysis of AHAS. (A) Elution curve of AHAS, (B) monosaccharide composition of AHAS.
Figure 2
Figure 2
FT-IR analysis of AHAS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of AHAS supplementation on serum antioxidant status of lambs (n = 7). (A) T-AOC, (B) T-SOD, (C) CAT, (D) MDA, (E) GSH-Px. Note: Bars that have distinct superscripts (a,b) exhibit significant differences (p < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The impact of AHAS on plasma IgA, IgG, and IgM release in lambs (n = 7). The expression levels of IgA (A), IgG (B), and IgM (C) secretion into the lumen, as evidenced by ELISA assay. Note: Means within a row without the same superscripts (a–c) differ significantly (p < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
The impact of AHAS on plasma IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, TNF-α, and IFN-γ release in lamb (n = 7). The expression levels of (A) IL-4, (B) IL-10, (C) IL-17, (D) TNF-α, and (E) IFN-γ, as evidenced by ELISA. Note: Means within a row without the same superscripts (a, b) differ significantly (p < 0.05).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Species accumulation curves and ASV/OTU (n = 7). (A) Species accumulation curves, (B) comparative OTU analysis of the intestinal microbiota of lambs.
Figure 7
Figure 7
α-diversity and β-diversity of different groups of microorganisms (n = 7). (A) α-diversity indexes, (B) hierarchical cluster analysis based on weighted UniFrac distances, (C) principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) using the Bray–Curtis distance matrix, (D) non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis based on unweighted UniFrac distances.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Microbiological analysis of AHAS-H group and control group (n = 7). Microbial composition profiles of two treatment groups at phylum (A) and genus (B) levels. (C) LDA effect size analysis (LEfSe). (D) Differential analysis of metabolic pathways: positive values of logFC on the horizontal axis represent up-regulation (log2 (fold change)) in group B relative to group A, while negative values indicate down-regulation. The vertical axis is labeled with different KEGG metabolic pathway names. The degree of significance is denoted by varying colors.
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