Zinc-loaded aluminosilicate minerals improve growth performance and alleviate inflammatory response in broiler chickens challenged with avian pathogenic Escherichia coli.

This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effects of zinc-loaded aluminosilicate minerals, zinc-loaded zeolite (Zn-ZEO) and zinc-loaded montmorillonite (Zn-MMT), on avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC)-challenged broilers. A total of two hundred and forty one-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chicks were divided into four groups with six replicates of ten birds each for a 21-day trial. The control and the APEC challenge groups were fed a basal diet, while the Zn-ZEO and Zn-MMT groups received the basal diet supplemented with 1000 mg/kg of Zn-ZEO or Zn-MMT, respectively. At 14 days, birds in the APEC and zinc-loaded aluminosilicate mineral groups were inoculated with APEC suspension. Both zinc-loaded aluminosilicate minerals restored weight gain and feed efficiency in APEC-infected birds (P < 0.05). Zn-ZEO and Zn-MMT inhibited Escherichia coli colonization in the cecum and its translocation to the liver and spleen, with Zn-MMT additionally reducing cardiac Escherichia coli translocation (P < 0.05). The two zinc-loaded aluminosilicate minerals normalized serum α1-acid glycoprotein and triglyceride levels in APEC-challenged chickens (P < 0.05). Zn-MMT further reduced serum adrenocorticotropic hormone and C-reactive protein levels while restoring serum glucose and total cholesterol levels (P < 0.05). Zn-MMT or Zn-ZEO restored cytokine concentrations in serum, spleen, and intestinal mucosa in APEC-challenged chickens (serum interferon-γ, splenic interleukin-10, jejunal interleukin-1β and interferon-γ, and ileal interleukin-4) (P < 0.05). Furthermore, Zn-MMT normalized a broader range of cytokines in serum (interleukin-6, interleukin-4, interleukin-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α), spleen (interferon-γ and interleukin-4), and intestinal mucosa (jejunal tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-4, and ileal interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-10) through the inactivation toll-like receptor 4 signaling (P < 0.05). The zinc-loaded aluminosilicate minerals restored immunoglobulins in serum, jejunal mucosa, and/or ileal mucosa (immunoglobulin A, secretory immunoglobulin A, and/or immunoglobulin M), with Zn-MMT normalizing a wider spectrum of immunoglobulins (P < 0.05). These findings demonstrate that Zn-ZEO and Zn-MMT both effectively improved growth performance and alleviated inflammation in APEC-challenged broilers, with Zn-MMT exhibiting more pronounced effects.