Traditional Chinese medicine protected chickens from Mycoplasma gallisepticum

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is a common avian pathogen that mainly infects poultry, causing significant reductions in body weight gain and egg production, along with damage to immune organs and immunosuppression. Notably, MG is susceptible to co-infections with other pathogens, leading to increased mortality rates and significant economic losses in the global poultry industry. While antibiotics have been extensively applied worldwide to treat MG infections in poultry production, concerns regarding antibiotic resistance and residue remain.

To that end, a team of researchers from China reported their finding in the Journal of Integrative Agriculture of a compound of ten Chinese medicine formulas that offers a promising, natural alternative for combating MG infection in poultry.

“Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), known for its natural, safe and non-toxic properties, has shown significant anti-inflammatory and immune-enhancing effects,” says corresponding author Xiuli Peng, a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, China. “Our study investigated the protective effect of TCM on production performance and its impact on MG-induced immunosuppression through the MAPK/ERK/JNK signaling pathway in chickens.”

The team found that TCM alleviated the negative effects of MG infection on production performance, as evidenced by improvements in body weight gain, feed conversion rate, survival rate, and immune organ index. TCM exhibited direct inhibition of the MG proliferation in vitro and in vivo.

“Furthermore, TCM treatment promoted the normalization of trachea and lung tissue structure in MG-infected chickens, leading to a significant reduction in inflammatory damage,” says Peng.

Following the treatment with the TCM, the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) decreased significantly, accompanied by the downregulation of pro-apoptotic genes caspase3, caspase9, and BAX, both in vitro and in vivo.

A mechanism-based study showed that in vitro and in vivo treatment with the TCM significantly reduced the expression of key proteins, including early growth response gene 1 (EGR1), p-ERK, p-JNK, and p-JUN.

“TCM improved body weight gain inhibited pro-inflammation responses, and alleviated tissue damage by inhibiting the MAPK/ERK/JNK signaling pathway to protect the performance and immune system of MG-infected chickens,” says Peng. “These results confirm that TCM not only protects against MG-induced immunosuppression and inflammation but also supports sustainable poultry production by reducing reliance on conventional antibiotics.”

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Contact the author:Correspondence Xiuli Peng, Tel: +86-27-87281396, E-mail: xlpengsishun@mail.hzau.edu.cn 

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