Proanthocyanidins Alleviates AflatoxinB(1)-Induced Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis through Mitochondrial Pathway in the Bursa of Fabricius of Broilers

Aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)) is a serious threat to the poultry industry. Proanthocyanidins (PCs) demonstrates a broad range of biological, pharmacological, therapeutic, and chemoprotective properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorative effects of PCs against AFB(1)-induced histopathology, oxidative stress, and apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway in the bursa of Fabricius (BF) of broilers. One hundred forty-four one-day old Cobb chicks were randomly assigned into four treatment groups of six replicates (6 birds each replicate) for 28 days. Groups were fed on the following four diets; (1) Basal diet without addition of PCs or AFB(1) (Control); (2) basal diet supplemented with 1 mg/kg AFB(1) from contaminated corn (AFB(1)); (3) basal diet supplemented with 250 mg/kg PCs (PCs); and (4) basal diet supplemented with 1 mg/kg AFB(1) + 250 mg/kg PCs (AFB(1)+ PCs). The present study results showed that antioxidant enzymes activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in AFB(1) treated group were (p < 0.05) decreased, whereas malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were significantly increased in comparison with the control group. Furthermore, we found that dietary PCs treatment ameliorated AFB(1)-induced oxidative stress in the BF through inhibiting the accumulation of MDA content and enhancing the antioxidant enzymes activities (T-SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, and GST). Similarly, PCs markedly enhanced messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of antioxidant genes (SOD, CAT, GPx1, and GST) in comparison with AFB(1) group. Moreover, histological results showed that PCs alleviated AFB(1)-induced apoptotic cells in the BF of broilers. In addition, both mRNA and protein expression results manifested that mitochondrial-apoptosis-associated genes (Bax, caspase-9, caspase-3, and p53 and cytochrome c) showed up-regulation, while (Bcl-2) showed down-regulation in AFB(1) fed group. The supplementation of PCs to AFB(1) diet significantly reversed the mRNA and protein expression of these apoptosis-associated genes, as compared to the AFB(1) group. Our results demonstrated that PCs ameliorated AFB(1)-induced oxidative stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and apoptosis in the BF through mitochondrial pathway in broilers.