A network pharmacology and transcriptome analysis of the therapeutic effects of tea tree oil on the lungs of chicks exposed to hydrogen sulfide

This study investigated the use of tea tree oil (TTO) in the treatment of H₂S-induced lung injury in chickens, focusing on the detoxification mechanism. H₂S can damage the respiratory system and reduce growth performance. TTO can improve immune inflammation and growth performance. The mechanism by which TTO mitigates the harmful effects of H₂S on chicken lungs remains unclear. Therefore, the experimental model was established by H₂S exposure and TTO addition in drinking water. The 240 one-day-old Roman pink chicks were selected for the experiment. The trial was divided into control group (CON), treatment group (TTG, 0.02 mL/L TTO+H₂S) and H₂S exposure group (AVG, H₂S). There were 4 replicates in each group and the trial lasted for 42 d. The therapeutic effect of TTO on lung injury in chickens were determined by growth performance evaluation, transcription sequencing and network pharmacology analysis. The results showed that in the test's third week, the body weights of the chickens in the CON were higher than those in the AVG and TTG (P < 0.05). Pathological sections showed that TTO alleviated the symptoms of lung inflammation and bleeding caused by ROS. As showed by transcriptional sequencing, the mRNA expression of apoptosis-related genes Caspase-9, BAK-1, BCL-2 and BAX were significantly altered (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the mRNA expression of inflammation-related genes IL-2, IL-6, and IL-17 were downregulated (P < 0.05). Network pharmacological analysis showed that CA2, CA4, GABRA5 and ADH1C were the key targets of TTO. The TTO treatment significantly altered these targets (P < 0.05). Molecular docking confirmed the strong binding ability between the active component and the targets. This study showed that TTO inhibits H₂S-induced oxidative damage to the lungs, thereby improving their health status. This provides a new solution for the prevention of harmful gas in the poultry industry.