Fructose enhances intestinal development and barrier function while driving hepatic lipogenesis and inflammation in
Liping Gan1, Ningyu Geng1, Qiqi Yang1
1School of Bioengineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan, China.
Poultry Science
|August 17, 2025
Summary
Fructose supplementation in broiler diets improved gut health and intestinal development but did not affect growth performance. However, it reduced fat digestibility and increased liver fat synthesis and inflammation.
Area of Science:
- Animal Science
- Nutritional Science
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Fructose is a common carbohydrate with potential impacts on animal health.
- Understanding fructose's effects on broiler intestinal health and metabolism is crucial for optimizing poultry production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of dietary fructose on broiler intestinal health, nutrient metabolism, and production performance.
- To elucidate the mechanisms underlying fructose's impact on broiler physiology, including gut morphology, microbiota, and hepatic function.
Main Methods:
- In vitro studies using broiler intestinal organoids.
- In vivo trial with 96 broilers fed a commercial diet supplemented with 1% fructose in drinking water for 42 days.
- Analysis of growth performance, carcass characteristics, nutrient digestibility, gene expression (ACC1, Srebf1, CPT1), serum metabolites, liver inflammation markers (IL-1β, 5-HETE), intestinal morphology, and gut microbiota composition.
Main Results:
- Fructose increased intestinal organoid size in vitro.
- In vivo, fructose did not affect body weight, feed intake, or feed conversion ratio (FCR) but increased dressed percentage.
- Fructose reduced apparent crude fat digestibility, enhanced hepatic lipogenesis (upregulated ACC1, Srebf1; downregulated CPT1), and induced liver inflammation (elevated IL-1β, 5-HETE).
- Intestinal morphology improved with increased villus height to crypt depth ratio and longer duodenum/ileum, alongside upregulated tight junction gene expression.
- Fructose altered gut microbiota composition, decreasing the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidota ratio, and influenced serum lipid metabolism pathways.
Conclusions:
- Supplementation with 1% fructose in broiler drinking water enhances intestinal development and alters microbial composition without impacting growth performance.
- Fructose negatively affects dietary fat digestibility and promotes hepatic lipogenesis and inflammation.
- Further research is needed to balance the benefits for gut health against potential adverse effects on liver function and nutrient utilization in broilers.
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