Effects of Ficus carica L. Polysaccharide on Intestinal Immune Function and Microbiota of Broilers

Lu Yabin¹Sajidaimu Maimaiti²Zhanke Qin²Xinke Cheng¹Li Jianlong¹Chuang Zhou²Ying Xiao¹Saifuding Abula^1*Ling Kuang^1*Zhanhai Mai^1*

• ¹Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China
• ²Kizilsu Vocational Technical College, Atushi, China

Ficus carica L. polysaccharides (FLP) are groups of biologically active compounds extracted from the of the Ficus carica L. In this study, we analyzed the structure of FLP, predicted its immune enhancement pathway, and detected the impact of FLP on growth performance, immune function, and intestinal microflora of broiler chickens. The results showed that FLP are comprised of monosaccharides like rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, glucose and galactose. Feeding FLP significantly promoted the growth performance, slaughtering performance and immune organs index of the chickens compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the FLP-h and FLP-m groups increased the levels of sIgA, IgG, IL-4, IL-5, IL-12 and IFN-γ, improved immunity and barrier function, promoted the percentage of spleen CD4 + and CD8 + T cell differentiation compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, FLP-h group raised the levels of various SCFAs, improved the beneficial bacteria such as Firmicutes at the phylum level, and Faecalibacterium, Blautia, Phascolarctobacterium, and Alistipes at the genus level. The results of network pharmacology and KEGG pathway prediction indicate that FLP may change the structure and metabolism of intestinal microbiota by enhancing carbon fixation pathways in prokaryotes, and promote intestinal immune barrier function through the joint action of bisphenol degradation, retinol metabolismp, NOD-like signaling pathways, toll-like receptor signaling pathways and MAPK signaling pathway. These results suggest that FLP-h supplementation effectively promotes growth performance and enhance the intestinal mucosal immune barrier function in chickens.