Protective Effects of Tributyrin on Cyclic Heat-Stressed Taihe Silky Fowls: Insights into Oxidative Status, Inflammatory Response, and Mucosal Barrier Function

This study examined the protective impact of tributyrin on heat-stressed Taihe silky fowls, providing insight into oxidative status, inflammatory response, and mucosal barrier function. Three hundred chicks were randomly assigned to 6 treatments: control (CON, 24 ± 1 °C) fed with basal diet and 5 heat stress (HS) treatments (34 ± 1 °C for 8 h/d) fed with basal diet containing 0, 0.04, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.32% tributyrin. Heat stress elevated serum malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), D-lactate, and diamine oxidase levels, and decreased total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), interleukin 4 (IL-4), interleukin 10 (IL-10), and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Compared with HS treatment, tributyrin reversed these serum changes (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Moreover, HS elevated jejunal and ileal MDA content and <i>IL-1β</i> mRNA abundance, decreased GSH-Px activity, villus height (VH), VH: crypt depth ratio, and mRNA abundance of <i>IL-10</i>, <i>occludin</i>, and <i>zonula occludens-1</i> (<i>ZO-1</i>), and decreased cecal butyrate content (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Compared with HS treatment, tributyrin reduced jejunal and ileal MDA content and <i>IL-1β</i> mRNA abundance, increased GSH-Px activity, VH, and mRNA abundance of <i>IL-4</i>, <i>IL-10</i>, <i>occludin</i>, and <i>ZO-1</i>, and increased cecal butyrate content (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In conclusion, tributyrin enhanced antioxidant capacity, attenuated inflammatory responses, increased cecal butyrate content, and improved intestinal morphology and mucosal barrier function in cyclic heat-stressed Taihe silky fowls.