Polysaccharide from Hericium erinaceus improved laying performance of aged hens by promoting yolk precursor synthesis and follicle development via liver-blood-ovary axis

Lianchi Wu; Yujie Lv; Chaoyue Ge; Xinyu Luo; Zhaoying Hu; Weichen Huang; Shenao Zhan; Xinyu Shen; Dongyou Yu; Bing Liu

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2024.103810

Polysaccharide from Hericium erinaceus improved laying performance of aged hens by promoting yolk precursor synthesis and follicle development via liver-blood-ovary axis

Poult Sci. 2024 Apr 30;103(7):103810. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103810. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Lianchi Wu¹, Yujie Lv², Chaoyue Ge², Xinyu Luo¹, Zhaoying Hu¹, Weichen Huang¹, Shenao Zhan¹, Xinyu Shen², Dongyou Yu², Bing Liu³

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
² College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Hainan Institute, Zhejiang University, Sanya 572000, China.
³ College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: bing.liu@zju.edu.cn.

Abstract

Little information is available on the effect of Hericium erinaceus polysaccharides (HEP) on laying hens, especially on improving liver and ovarian health and function. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the impacts of HEP on liver and ovarian function to delay the decline in the laying performance of aged hens. A total of 360 fifty-eight-wk-old laying hens were randomly allocated to 4 treatments, with 6 replicates of 15 birds each. After 2 wk of adaptation, the birds were fed basal diet (CON) or basal diets supplemented with 250, 500, and 750 mg/kg of HEP (HEP250, HEP500, and HEP 750, respectively) for 12 wk. The results showed that, compared with CON, hens fed HEP had significantly increased laying performance (P < 0.05) and promoted follicle development, as evidenced by the increased numbers of hierarchical follicles, small follicles, and total follicles (P < 0.05). Birds fed 500 mg/kg of HEP improved the liver function by increasing T-AOC activity (P < 0.05) and decreasing hepatic oxidative stress and inflammatory responses (inflammatory cell infiltration) caused by aging. The lipid metabolism was improved, and yolk precursor synthesis was promoted in the liver of HEP-treated laying hens by upregulating the mRNA expression of FAS, MTTP, PPAR-α, APOVLDL-Ⅱ, and VTG-Ⅱ (P < 0.05). In addition, HEP significantly decreased ovarian inflammation by regulating the mRNA levels of NF-κB, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α (P < 0.05). As a result, the contents of E₂, LH, and FSH in serum and the gene expression of ERα of the liver and FSHR of the ovary increased in HEP-treated hens (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary HEP supplementation exhibited potential hepatic and ovarian protective effects, thereby increasing the laying performance of aged hens by enhancing reproductive hormone secretion hormone secretion and promoting yolk precursor synthesis and follicle development via the liver-blood-ovary axis. The optimal supplementation level of HEP in aged hens was 500 mg/kg.

Keywords: Hericium erinaceus polysaccharides; aged hen; liver-blood-ovary axis; ovarian function.