Dietary methionine sources and levels modulate the intestinal health status of broiler chickens

Given the key role of methionine in biological processes, adequate methionine should be provided to meet the nutritional requirements. DL-2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)-butanoic acid (DL-HMTBA) has been considered as an important source of methionine. However, the effects of different sources and levels of methionine on the intestinal health status have not been clarified yet. An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different dietary sources and levels of methionine on the intestinal epithelial barrier, inflammatory cytokines expression, ileal morphology, microbiota composition, and cecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) profiles. For this purpose, 720 male Arbor Acre broiler chicks at 1 d old were randomly assigned to a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with 2 methionine sources (DL-methionine and DL-HMTBA) and 3 total sulfur amino acids (TSAA) levels (80%, 100%, and 120% of Arbor Acre recommendation). The results showed that DL-HMTBA supplementation promoted intestinal physical barrier at both gene expression level of claudin-1 and serum diamine oxidase level (P < 0.05), and the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 mRNA expression was down-regulated by dietary DL-HMTBA supplementation compared with the DL-methionine group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, an upregulated gene expression of claudin-1 and zonula occluden-1 (ZO-1) were observed in the low-TSAA treatment on d 14 (P < 0.05), whereas this treatment increased the expression of IL-1β and IL-6 (P < 0.05). Villus height to crypt depth ratio was high (P < 0.05) in the middle-level TSAA group. Furthermore, DL-HMTBA supplementation optimized the microbiota of the ileum especially the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, where the digestion and absorption were completed, and elevated the concentrations of SCFA (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) in the cecal content on d 21 (P < 0.01). In conclusion, dietary DL-HMTBA supplementation improved the intestinal barrier function, immune homeostasis and optimized the microbiota to promote intestinal health status in broiler chickens.