Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae—Fermented Coconut Water Alleviates Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Enteritis in Wenchang Chicken: A Gut Microbiota and Metabolomic Approach

Simple Summary In recent years, the worldwide prohibition on antibiotics, including in China, has led to an increased incidence of acute enteritis in poultry, resulting in significant economic losses. Probiotic-fermented products, especially postbiotics, have exhibited promising probiotic effects, demonstrating potential for ameliorating acute enteritis. It has been reported that probiotic and postbiotics intervention can effectively treat acute enteritis. In reality, coconut water, an abundant local resource in Hainan, China, is frequently easy to be contaminated and consequently underutilized in industrial processes. In this study, Wenchang chicken was employed as an DSS-induced model of acute enteritis and then fed with coconut water fermented by probiotics. The results show that coconut water fermented by probiotics facilitates the recovery of production performance in afflicted chickens, improving serum immune and biochemical indexes, intestinal tissue structure, and the composition of the gut microbiota structure and metabolomics. This study provides theoretical insights for the development and utilization of new fermented feed resources known as postbiotics and provides a reference for the sustainable green development of the poultry breeding industry. Abstract In order to investigate the potential mechanisms of probiotic-fermented coconut water in treating enteritis, this study conducted a comprehensive analysis of the effects of probiotic intervention on the recovery from Dextran Sodium Sulfate-induced acute enteritis in Wenchang chicks. The analysis encompassed the assessment of growth performance, serum indicators, intestinal tissue structure, and metagenomic and metabolomic profiles of cecal contents in 60 Wenchang chicks subjected to intervention. This approach aimed to elucidate the impact of probiotic intervention on the recovery process from acute enteritis at both the genetic and metabolic levels in the avian model. The results revealed that intervention with Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y301 improved the growth rate of chicks. and intervention with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MS2c regulated the glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway and reshaped the gut microbiota structure in modeling chicks with acute enteritis, reducing the abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria from the Alistipes and increasing the abundance of potentially beneficial species from the Christensenellaceae. This intervention resulted in the production of specific gut metabolites, including Gentamicin C and polymyxin B2, recognized for their therapeutic effects on acute enteritis. The combined intervention of S. cerevisiae Y301 and L. plantarum MS2c not only enhanced growth performance but also mitigated intestinal wall damage and increased the abundance of gut metabolites such as gentamicin C and polymyxin B2, thereby mitigating symptoms of enteritis. Furthermore, this combined intervention reduced the levels of serum immune markers, including IL-10, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and D-lactic acid, thus mitigating intestinal epithelial cell damage and promoting acute enteritis recovery. This study provides crucial insights into the mechanisms of action of probiotics and probiotic-fermented coconut water in acute enteritis recovery, offering new perspectives for sustainable farming practices for Wenchang chicken.