Yigong San Extract Modulates Metabolism, Antioxidant Status, and Immune Function to Improve Health in Diarrheic Calves

作者：Sijuan Huang, Chao Han, Jianyu Lv, Xiaosong Zhang, Xuan Ni, Xin Wang, Jianfei Wang, Yunfei Ma, Zhihui Hao · 发表于：Metabolites · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/metabo15090618 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Animal health and immunology、Gut microbiota and health、Microbial infections and disease research

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Calf diarrhea is a serious health problem in dairy farming, which seriously affects their production performance in adulthood. Diarrhea in calves is usually treated with antibiotics, which may lead to issues of antibiotic residue and resistance. Therefore, finding antibiotic alternatives is of critical importance. Yigong San (YGS) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula traditionally indicated for inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders. This study aimed to investigate whether YGS can be used as an alternative to antibiotics for the effective treatment of calf diarrhea and the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Ten healthy Holstein calves served as the control (Ctrl) group, while twenty diarrheic calves were randomly assigned to either a natural diarrhea (ND) group or a YGS treatment (YGS) group, which received YGS for seven days. Serum samples were collected post-treatment and analyzed for biochemical parameters, oxidative stress indicators, cytokine levels, and metabolomic profiles. RESULTS: The results showed that YGS effectively alleviated diarrhea and improved abnormal biochemical indicators. YGS significantly increased serum levels of CAT, GSH-PX, and SOD, while reducing MDA levels. In addition, YGS also suppressed the expression of multiple proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-1α, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-17A, IL-18, IL-21, IFN-γ, as well as chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10. Metabolomic analysis revealed that YGS treatment significantly improved metabolic d...