Figure 2

Protective effect of Artemisia argyi essential oil on intestinal damage caused by S. pullorum infection. A Intestinal lesions and H&E staining in S. pullorum-infected chicks treated with or without Artemisia argyi essential oil. B–D The villus height (B), crypt length (C), and ratio of the villus to crypt length (D) of the ileum (n = 3). E–H Ileum MUC-2 (E), ZO-1 (F), Claudin-1 (G), and Occludin (H) mRNA levels were assessed by qPCR in chicks (n = 3). I–N Evaluation of chick ileum IL-1β (I), IL-6 (J), IL-10 (K), NF-κB (L), SOD (M), and MDA (N) levels with ELISA kits (n = 6). Data are expressed as the mean ± SD. ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01 vs the uninfected (NC) group; ns P > 0.05, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 vs the S. pullorum infection (SP) group.