Integrated network pharmacology and in vivo validation reveal the action of Scutellaria baicalensis extract against oviductal inflammation in laying hens

Oviductal inflammation in laying hens presents a significant challenge to the laying hen industry, leading to a significant decline in production performance and eggshell quality. The supplementation of traditional Chinese herbs or their extracts has been proven to be beneficial for improving the growth performance and health status of animals. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Scutellaria baicalensis extract (SBE) on laying performance and oviductal inflammation by integrating network pharmacology, molecular docking, and animal experiments. A total of 288 healthy 55-week-old Hy-Line Brown hens were randomly allocated to 3 treatments (8 replicates of 12 birds each), and all laying hens except those in the control received injections of 15% phenol mucilage (PM; 1 mL/bird once daily for 5 consecutive days). The findings revealed that compared with the PM group, the SBE group had better egg production, egg mass, and feed conversion ratio at weeks 1-8 (P < 0.05). Moreover, compared with the PM group, SBE supplementation reduced the levels of TNF-α, LPS, and β-gal in the magnum and increased the contents of lysozyme and ovotransferrin in albumen (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the upregulation of PI3K, AKT1, and BCL2 and the downregulation of BAX and TNF-α were observed in the SBE group compared with the PM group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the significantly lower abundances of Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Bacteroides, and Ruminococcus_torques_group were observed in the PM group compared with the control and SBE groups (P < 0.05), and SBE supplementation effectively counteracted these adverse effects. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that SBE supplementation could mitigate oviductal inflammation in laying hens, potentially by regulating the PI3K-AKT1 signaling pathway, and provide novel insights for developing plant extracts to improve reproductive health and egg quality in laying hens.