Phytobiotic potential of Teucrium polium phenolic microcapsules against Salmonella enteritidis infection in mice.

Salmonella infection is a major public health issue worldwide. Given the alarming increase in infections with antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and side effects of synthetic antibiotics, there is an increasing interest in medicinal plants as natural alternatives to synthetic drugs to combat antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. The present study investigated the biological properties and health-promoting effects of microencapsulated phenolic compounds of Teucrium polium leaves as a dietary phytobiotic in mice challenged by Salmonella enteritidis. Microcapsules showed a capsulation efficiency of 93.6% with a particle size of 1261.8 nm with antioxidant and antibacterial activities in-vitro. The phytochemical analysis confirmed the presence of various phenolic compounds, i.e., ferulic acid, cinnamic acid, gallic acid, caffeic acid, salicylic acid, catechin, ellagic acid, and chrysin ranged between 121.6 and 975.3 µg/g DW. The microencapsulated phenolics exhibited improvement in the growth, liver function, morphometric parameters of ileum, antioxidant- and inflammation-related gene expression and inhibited the ileal population of S. enteritidis in mice challenged by S. enteritidis infection. The microencapsulated phenolics from T. polium leaves could be a promising phytobiotic approach to combat S. enteritidis infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]