Identification and evaluation of probiotic potential of Bifidobacterium breve AHC3 isolated from chicken intestines and its effect on necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in newborn SD rats

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe intestinal disease of the newborn infants, associated with high morbidity and mortality. It has been reported that Bifidobacterium could protect the intestinal barrier function and reduce the risk of NEC. This study aimed to evaluate the probiotic potential of Bifidobacterium strains isolated from the chicken intestines and its effect on necrotizing enterocolitis in newborn SD rats. Out of 32 isolates, B. breve AHC3 not only exhibited excellent probiotic potential, including tolerance to artificial simulated gastric conditions, adhesion to HT-29 cells, antioxidant capacity and antibacterial activity, but also possessed reliable safety. Additionally, NEC model was established to further investigate the effect of B. breve AHC3 on necrotizing enterocolitis in newborn SD rats. It was illustrated that administration of B. breve AHC3 significantly not only reduced the incidence of NEC (from 81.25% to 34.38%) (P< 0.05), but also alleviated the severity of ileal injury (P< 0.05). Compared with NEC model, B. breve AHC3 could significantly decrease the level of proinflammatory factor TNF-α (P< 0.05) and increase the level of antiinflammatory factor IL-10 (P< 0.05) in the ileum of NEC rats. Through the intervention of B. breve AHC3, the gray value of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in intestinal tissue of NEC rats was significantly reduced (P< 0.05). It was indicated that B. breve AHC3 exhibited prominent probiotic potential and reliable safety. In the neonatal SD rat model of NEC, B. breve AHC3 had an available protective effect on the intestinal injury of NEC, which might be related to reducing the inflammatory reaction in the ileum and inhibiting the expression of iNOS in intestinal tissue cells. B. breve AHC3 could be used as a potential treatment for human NEC.