This research was conducted to evaluate the probiotic properties of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) P-8 through in vitro experiments and 12-week in vivo feeding trials, investigating its effects on growth performance, intestinal immunity, and microecology in Yellow River carp. In vitro experiments showed that L. plantarum P-8 inhibited various aquatic pathogenic bacteria and exhibited a certain level of safety in drug resistance tests. In the in vivo dosing feeding trial, fish (initial weight: 10.18 ± 0.01 g) were divided into five groups: CF, LP6, LP7, LP8, and Abx/LP8. Compared with CF group, the dietary addition of L. plantarum P-8 (1 × 108 CFU/g) in the LP8 and Abx/LP8 groups enhanced serum immune and antioxidant properties (P < 0.05), stimulated myofiber hyperplasia and hypertrophy through the promotion of muscle development (pax7, myf5, myod, myog, and mrf4) and suppression of muscle atrophy (mstnb) related gene expression (P < 0.05), and optimized the intestinal microbiota structure by increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus and Blautia, decreasing Flavobacterium and Helicobacter (P < 0.05), thereby improving intestinal health and growth performance. However, the LP6 and LP7 groups showed no significant health benefits. The pseudo-germ-free fish model (Abx/LP8 group) further demonstrated that L. plantarum P-8 can significantly modulate the structure and function of intestinal microbiota. Additionally, L. plantarum P-8's efficacy in reducing inflammation and fortifying the intestinal barrier was confirmed in faba bean-induced enteritis model. These evidences suggested that L. plantarum P-8 (1 × 108 CFU/g) improved intestinal health and growth performance by modulating the structure and function of intestinal microbiota.
Keywords: Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P-8; Enteritis model; Intestinal inflammation; Muscle development; Pseudo-germ-free fish model; Yellow River carp.
© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.