Abstract
The goal of the study was testing the effects of chlorogenic acid (CA) supplementation on small intestine healthiness, growth performance, oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and blood biochemical indices in specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens after infection with Clostridium perfringens (CP) type A. In this study, 324 1-day-old male SPF chickens were randomly distributed into 6 groups: control group; CA group; CP infection group; CA + CP group; antibiotic group; antibiotic + CP group. All 1-day-old chickens were fed with CA or antibiotic in corresponding treatment group for 13 d. On the 14 d, the chickens in corresponding infection group were challenged with CP type A for 3 d. Samples in each group were collected when the chickens were 17 and 21 d old. This study proves for the first time that CA, a Chinese herbal medicine, can effectively improve growth performance, inhibit small intestine structural damage, improve antioxidant capacity, inhibit damage to ileal mucosal layer construction and tight junctions, inhibit inflammatory cytokines, and ameliorate blood biochemical indices. Therefore, this study provides data for CA being able to effectively alleviate small intestine damage caused by CP type A infection in chickens.