Compensation effects of coated cysteamine on meat quality, amino acid composition, fatty acid composition, mineral content in dorsal muscle and serum biochemical indices in finishing pigs offered reduced trace minerals diet

Dear Editor.Trace mineral elements(ME)and amino acids have been demonstrated to be essential bioelements in animal nutrition.If there is a deficiency in ME,a number of biological functions in animals may be affected,including physical growth,psychomotor development,and immunity.Supplementation of pig diets with ME is known to improve the animals'growth,reproduction,and their immunity against oxidative stress and cell damage.

Macleaya cordata extract alleviated oxidative stress and altered innate immune response in mice challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

This study examines the effects of dietary Macleaya cordata extract(MCE) on bacterial burden and resistance to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC) in ICR mice. ICR mice were randomly distributed into one of the following groups:(i) basal diet;(ii)basal diet with 200 mg kg–1 MCE;(iii) basal diet challenged with ETEC;and(iv) basal diet with 200 mg kg–1 MCE and challenged with ETEC. Following a 7-day period of pre-treatment, CTRL-ETEC and MCE-ETEC mice were subjected to oral infection using 5×108 E. coli SEC 470. The results showed dietary 200 mg kg–1 MCE markedly reduced intestinal ETEC burden(P<0.05) and the disease-associated mortality was significantly alleviated in the MCE treated group(P<0.05). In addition,dietary MCE markedly alleviated ETEC-induced oxidative stress, evidenced by the lowered methane dicarboxylic aldehyde(MDA) abundance and enhanced activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase(P<0.05). Furthermore, MCE mice exhibited higher immune activity, which might have further mediated ETEC infection. These results indicate MCE plays a preventative role with respect to ETEC infection. Future research should aim to develop MCE as a therapeutic approach to the promotion of intestinal health and a safeguard against ETEC infection.

Early weaning leads to the remodeling of lipid profile in piglet jejunal crypt cells during post-weaning days

Reportedly,proteins involved in lipid metabolism change significantly in the jejunal crypt cells of earlyweaned piglets,but the exact lipid profile change remains uncertain.In the present study,32 piglets weaned at 21 d of age were randomly divided into 4 groups with 8 replicates.The jejunal crypt cells of a group of piglets on the post-weaning day(PWD)1,3,7,and 14 were isolated per time point.Crypt cell lipid profiles were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.This study showed that piglets suffered the greatest weaning stress on PWD 3 in terms of the lowest relative weight of the small intestine,the highest relative weight of the spleen,and the highest levels of malondialdehyde,cholesterol,and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.The lipid profile of jejunal crypt cells including carnitine,sulfatide,sphingomyelin,hexosylceramide,and ceramide greatly changed after weaning,especially between PWD3 and 14(P<0.05).The differential lipid species between these 2 d were mainly involved in the glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway.In addition,potential lipid biomarkers for weaning stress in crypt cells such as phosphatidylcholine(PC)(9:0/26:1),PC(17:0/18:2),carnitine(24:0),carnitine(22:0),sphingomyelin(d14:1/22:0),PC(P-18:0/18:4),phosphatidylethanolamine(P-16:0/20:4),phosphatidylinositol(15:1/24:4),and dihexosylceramide(d14:1/26:1)were identified.The changes in lipid profile might be related to the inflammation caused by early weaning.These findings might provide new therapeutical targets for intestinal dysfunctions caused by weaning stress.

A water-soluble β-glucan improves growth performance by altering gut microbiome and health in weaned pigs

Beta-glucan has been shown to have a beneficial effect on gastrointestinal health.This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects ofβ-glucan isolated from Agrobacterium sp.ZX09 on growth performance and intestinal health of weaning pigs.A total of 108 weaned pigs(21 d of age;6.05±0.36 kg)were randomly divided into 3 groups(6 pens/group;6 pigs/pen),and the groups were each treated with the following diets:1)basal diet,2)basal diet supplemented with 20 mg/kg olaquindox,3)basal diet supplemented with 200 mg/kgβ-glucan,for 21 d.Compared with the control group,pigs fed with200 mg/kgβ-glucan had greaterBW,average daily gain and duodenal villus height to crypt depth ratio(P<0.05).Olaquindox increased the duodenal or jejunal villus height of pigs compared withβ-glucan.Compared with the control group,β-glucan tended to increase the occludin mRNA expression in the jejunum(0.05<P<0.10).Beta-glucan enriched the beneficial microbiota in the ileum of pigs(P<0.05).In conclusion,β-glucan may promote growth performance by improving intestinal health and increasing beneficial microbiota of weaned pigs.The study results will provide valuable theoretical guidance for the utilization ofβ-glucan in weaned pigs.