title: Changes in composition a metabolism of caecal microbiota in rats fed diets supplemented with copper-loaded chitosan nanoparticles.
abstract: The study was conducted to investigate the effect of copper-loaded chitosan nanoparticles on the composition and metabolism of the caecal microbiota in rats. Forty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (average body weight of 82 ± 5 g) were randomly assigned to five groups (n = 8). The dietary treatments were: (i) basal diet, (ii) basal diet + 80 mg/kg BW CuSO(4), (iii) basal diet + 80 mg/kg BW chitosan (CS-I), (iv) basal diet + 80 mg/kg BW copper-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CSN-I) and (v) basal diet + 160 mg/kg BW copper-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CSN-II). The trial lasted 21 days. The results showed that compared with control, Average day gain (ADG) of group CSN-I and CSN-II increased (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in CuSO(4) or CS-I-treated groups (p > 0.05). There were no effects of these treatments on average day feed intake (ADFI) of rats (p > 0.05). The counts of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus in group CSN-II were higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05), while the counts of total aerobes, total anaerobes, Salmonella, Clostridium and coliform were lower than those of the control (p < 0.05). The activity of β-glucuronidase in group CSN-I or CSN-II was significantly depressed (p < 0.05), while the activities of α-galactosidase and β-galactosidase were enhanced significantly (p < 0.05). The pH of the caecum digesta and the concentration of propionate and butyrate in group CSN-I and CSN-II were higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in these parameters in CuSO(4) or CS-I-treated groups (p > 0.05). The results indicate that the microbiota and environment of caecum are beneficially changed by the administration of copper-loaded CSN.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Molecular Animal Nutrition of Ministry of Education, Feed Science Institute, College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Huajiachi Campus, Hangzhou, China. xyhan@zju.edu.cn
authors.forename: X-Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: W-L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: C-L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Z-R
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology*; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D019327:Copper Sulfate / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D008297:Male; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D048271:Chitosan; D019327:Copper Sulfate