Platycodon grandiflorum and Glycyrrhiza uralensis extract attenuates cyclophosphamide-induced tracheal mucosal barrier injury in broilers by modulating gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids.

Yijie Qin, Zengxin Lv, Yingxuan Duan, Hongfei Li, Xin Liu, Yongpeng Guo, Zhixiang Wang, Wei Zhang

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Poultry science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Yijie QinCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.

Zengxin LvCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.

Yingxuan DuanCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.

Hongfei LiCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.

Xin LiuCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.

Yongpeng GuoCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.

Zhixiang WangCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.

Wei ZhangCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China. Electronic address: weizhang@henau.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Respiratory mucosal immunity is critical to sustaining respiratory health and production performance in poultry. Damage to this barrier increases susceptibility to respiratory diseases in poultry and causes economic losses. In traditional Chinese medicine, Platycodon grandiflorum and Glycyrrhiza uralensis are commonly combined for the treatment of respiratory diseases. This study hypothesized that Platycodon grandiflorum and Glycyrrhiza uralensis extract (PGL) may modulate the cecal microbiota structure and concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in broilers, and potentially participate in alleviating cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced tracheal mucus barrier injury in immunosuppressed broilers via the gut-trachea axis. Multiple indicators including growth performance, immune organ indices, intestinal and respiratory mucosal barrier function, cecal microbiota and SCFA levels were comprehensively evaluated. A total of 240 healthy 1-day-old AA broilers were randomly assigned to four groups (5 replicates per group, 12 broilers per replicate, 28 d): control group (CON), PGL supplementation group (PGL), CTX treatment group (CTX), and CTX combined with PGL group (CTX+PGL). Results showed that compared with the CTX group, the CTX+PGL group exhibited a significant increase (12.19%) in survival rate from 15 to 28 d. PGL alleviated CTX-induced tracheal inflammatory infiltration and goblet cell loss. It significantly restored the mRNA expression levels of tracheal tight junction proteins, FFAR2 (50.75%), sIgA (346.15%), NF-κB1 (35.16%), NLRP3 (31.82%) and mucins, while significantly downregulating the relative mRNA expression levels of IL-8 and IFN-γ (P < 0.05). In comparison with the CTX group, PGL ameliorated CTX-induced pathological changes, including alveolar wall thickening and alveolar space narrowing, and significantly increased the mRNA expression levels of tight junction proteins and mucins in lung tissue (P < 0.05). Quantitative immunofluorescence analysis showed that CTX+PGL treatment restored the protein expression levels of tracheal NF-κB p65 (43.28%), NLRP3 (81.13%), and MUC2 (43.47%) to near-normal levels in immunosuppressed broilers (P < 0.05). Cecal 16S rRNA sequencing analysis showed that the CTX+PGL group exhibited significant enrichment of Bacteroidota and Butyricimonas, accompanied by increased cecal SCFA concentrations (P < 0.05). The present findings provide correlative evidence supporting the potential involvement of the gut-trachea axis in the protective effects of PGL against respiratory mucosal immune injury.

Indexed as

Cecal microbiotaImmunosuppressionPlatycodon grandiflorum and glycyrrhiza uralensis extractShort-chain fatty acidsTracheal mucosal immune barrier

Identifiers

PMID42736201

DOI10.1016/j.psj.2026.107656

PMCPMC13594924

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.