Hepatoprotective effects of dandelion against AFB1-induced liver injury are associated with activation of bile acid-FXR signaling in chicks.

This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of dandelion against AFB1-induced hepatotoxicity through the regulation of the FXR signaling pathway in chicks. A total of 144 one-day-old male broilers were randomly assigned to three groups and received a basal diet (BD), and BD supplemented with 0.5 mg/kg of AFB1 or 0.5 mg/kg AFB1 with 0.4 % dandelion for 3 weeks. The results showed that the AFB1 treatment caused liver injury and decreased the concentrations of albumin and alkaline phosphatase in serum and increased the total bile acid concentration in serum and liver. Dietary AFB1 supplementation also induced hepatocyte swelling, necrosis, neutrophils infiltration and lipid deposition in the liver. Notably, dietary dandelion supplementation alleviated these alterations induced by AFB1. Additionally, dietary dandelion supplementation alleviated AFB1-induced changes in ileum microbiota and decreased the abundance of Lactobacillus, L. vaginalis, and L. acidophilus compared to the AFB1 treatment. Furthermore, AFB1 downregulated Baat, Ntcp, Acc, FXR, SHP, and SREBP-1c expression, and upregulated Cyp8b1, Bacs, Fas, Pparα, Lxrα and CYP7A1 expression in liver. Meanwhile, AFB1 also downregulated Fgf19, Ostα, Ostβ and FXR expression and upregulated SHP expression in the ileum. Conclusively, dietary dandelion supplementation protected broilers from AFB1-induced hepatotoxicity, potentially due to the activation of bile acid-FXR signaling pathway.