| Summary: | In this study, a strain of <i>E. faecium</i> R1 with effective bacteriostatic activity, acid resistance, bile salt resistance, high-temperature resistance was screened. To study the effect of <i>E. faecium</i> R1 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal and liver injury in piglets, twenty-four weaned female piglets were randomly assigned into one of three groups (8 piglets per group). Piglets in the control group and LPS group were fed a basal diet, piglets in the <i>E. faecium</i> group were fed the basal diet supplemented with <i>E. faecium</i> R1 (6.5 × 10<sup>6</sup> CFU/g). On day 21 of the trial, piglets in the LPS group and <i>E. faecium</i> group were intraperitoneally administered LPS (100 μg/kg), piglets in the control group were administered the same volume of saline. Subsequently, blood samples were collected at 3 h, and intestinal, liver, and pancreas samples were collected at 6 h. Results showed that <i>E. faecium</i> R1 supplementation significantly decreased the diarrhea rate and feed to gain ratio, and dramatically reduced LPS-induced intestinal and liver injury in piglets. Compared with the LPS group, <i>E. faecium</i> R1 supplementation significantly increased the content of glucagon in plasma and IL-1β in the liver, and the mRNA levels of <i>villin</i> in jejunum and ileum and <i>Bcl-xL</i> and <i>pBD-L</i> in the ileum, and significantly decreased the contents of prostaglandin 2 and malondialdehyde in the liver and the activities of myeloperoxidase and aspartate aminotransferase in plasma in piglets. Moreover, <i>E. faecium</i> R1 improved the pancreatic antioxidant capacity in piglets, which was indicated by a significant increase in catalase activity and a decrease in total nitric oxide synthase activity. In summary, dietary supplementation with <i>E. faecium</i> R1 alleviates intestinal and liver injury in LPS-challenged piglets.
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