Basic nutritional investigationRegulation of an antioxidant blend on intestinal redox status and major microbiota in early weaned piglets
Introduction
Young mammals are often challenged by weaning stress, which may induce oxidative stress, injuring intestinal morphology, lowering food intake and performance, decreasing immunity [1], [2], [3], [4], disturbing the dynamic balance of intestinal microbiota [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], and enhancing a risk for diarrhea and inflammation in infants and young animals. As reviewed previously [10], accumulated evidences have shown that supplementation of natural antioxidants such as vitamins E and C, tea polyphenols, and probiotics has been practiced to enhance the antioxidant system, relieve stress, and regulate the dynamic balance of intestinal microbiota in livestock husbandry. However, this approach has demonstrated limited effectiveness; therefore, according to the “antioxidants network” theory, the present study was conducted to investigate the regulation of an antioxidant blend on intestinal redox status and major microbiota of piglets in response to early weaning stress.
Additionally, although weaned piglets have been widely studied, most of the work has been concentrated on either the redox status and immunity in vivo [11], [12], [13], [14] or the state of intestinal microbiota [15], [16]. The underlying relationship between intestinal redox status and microbiota in piglets is still unclear. To our knowledge, the present study was the first conducted to explore the relationship between intestinal redox status and major microbiota of piglets, which is potentially instructive for purposefully enhancing intestinal health and function of piglets.
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Animals and experiment design
The experiment was a single-factor randomized block experiment. In all, one hundred and twenty 24-d-old piglets (Duroc × [Large white × Landrace]) from 15 litters were randomly divided by litter to three treatment groups with five litters per group. The treatment groups were designated as control, weaning, and repair groups. The size of every litter is eight piglets. The animal experiment was approved by the Shanghai Jiaotong University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
From 14 to 24
Redox status
After early weaning, the jejunum and colon tissues of 24-d-old piglets exhibited significant decreases in the capacities of T-AOC, GSH-Px, SOD, and significant increases in the H2O2 level (P < 0.05). There was also a significant decrease in colon IHR and a significant increase in jejunum MDA concentration (P < 0.05). Inversely, compared with weaned piglets, the piglets with diets supplemented with the antioxidant blend had significantly elevated capacities of T-AOC, GSH-Px, SOD, and reduced MDA
Discussion
Early weaning is a critical and essential stage for young mammals. However, young mammals often are challenged by weaning stress, leading to oxidative stress. Young animals, generally without an appropriate balance and mature antioxidant system in the gastrointestinal tract, are easily exposed to oxidative damage [1], [21], [22]. Previous studies have demonstrated that early weaning stress may lead to villus atrophy, low food intake, and the imbalance of oxidative and antioxidant systems in
Conclusion
Our results demonstrated that supplementation of the antioxidant blend effectively restored redox status and microbiota balance in the porcine intestine in response to early weaning stress, enhancing intestinal health. However, further studies should be conducted to more completely determine the mechanism regulating intestinal environment after weaning.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported financially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30972103). The authors acknowledge their colleagues for their helpful discussions and other kind members of the near laboratory for assisting with the sample collection.
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Congcong Xu and Jianxiong Xu contributed equally to this study.
Xiaolian Chen is presently affiliated with the Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Science, Nanchang, China.