Impact of dietary sanguinarine supplementation on performance, immune response, meat quality and intestinal morphology in broilers challenged with lipopolysaccharide

This study evaluated the effects of dietary sanguinarine supplementation on performance, serum biochemical parameters, antioxidant status, immune responses, meat quality, and intestinal morphology in broilers. A total of 84 one-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments containing sanguinarine at 0, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 g/kg for a 35-day experimental period. On day 28, an immune challenge was applied by intraperitoneal injection of 0.1 mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS; Escherichia coli serotype O127:B8) to three birds per group, while the remaining birds received sterile saline. Broilers fed sanguinarine-supplemented diets showed significantly higher final body weight and body weight gain, as well as improved feed conversion ratio. Sanguinarine supplementation significantly increased serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activities, while reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. Moreover, sanguinarine effectively attenuated LPS-induced oxidative stress by preventing reductions in antioxidant enzyme activities and excessive MDA production. Higher serum concentrations of IgA, IgM, and IgG were observed in broilers receiving sanguinarine supplementation. In addition, dietary sanguinarine reduced serum levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). In LPS-challenged birds, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α concentrations were markedly decreased by sanguinarine supplementation. Furthermore, lower serum levels of creatinine, urea, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein were detected. Broilers fed sanguinarine-supplemented diets exhibited increased villus height and reduced crypt depth in the small intestine. Results suggest that dietary sanguinarine is an effective feed additive for improving growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune response, and intestinal health in broilers.