Fig. 1

Effects of Macleaya cordata extract on the intestinal barrier of broiler chickens with necrotic enteritis. The lesion scores of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum and total intestine (A) were analyzed as described in the Materials and methods section. The villus height and crypt depth (B) of the jejunum were analyzed by HE staining. The V/C of the jejunum (C) was calculated by dividing the villus height by the crypt depth. HE-stained sections were monitored by optical microscopy at 200 × to determine differences in the villus height and crypt depth of the jejunum (D). The mRNA levels of Claudin-1, Occludin, ZO-1 and AMPK-α1 in the jejunum (E) were analyzed by RT‒PCR. All the data are presented as the mean, with the standard deviation (SD) shown with whiskers. The main effect and interaction effects were analyzed using the general linear model (GLM) procedure, with the P values for the main effects written out below each plot. One-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons were performed when interactive effects were significantly different. The lowercase letters on the bar charts indicate significant differences (P < 0.05). NC: negative control group; MCE: 350 mg/kg MCE without NE group; PC: positive control group; NEMCE: 350 mg/kg MCE with NE group