title: Effects of Piper sarmentosum extract on the growth performance, antioxidant capability and immune response in weaned piglets.
abstract: The biological properties of Piper sarmentosum render it a potential substitute for antibiotics in livestock feed. This study evaluated the effects of P. sarmentosum extract (PSE) on the growth performance, antioxidant capability and immune response of weaned piglets. Eighty 21-d-old weaned piglets were selected and randomly allocated to one of four dietary treatments with five replicates of four pigs each. The dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet supplemented with 0 (T0), 50 (T50), 100 (T100) or 200 (T200) mg/kg PSE. The feeding trial lasted 4 weeks. The results revealed that the T50 group had the highest average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) throughout the feeding trial (p < 0.05). Additionally, the T50 group had higher (p < 0.05) serum glutathione peroxidase activity (GSH-Px) and lower (p < 0.05) serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels than the T0 group at 4 weeks post-weaning (p < 0.05). Serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) decreased, while serum levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) increased by PSE supplementation at 4 weeks post-weaning (p < 0.05). PSE supplementation upregulated the mRNA expression of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β and downregulated the mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1β and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the ileal mucosal layer of piglets (p < 0.05). In summary, our study findings revealed that PSE supplementation improved the antioxidant capability, and reduced inflammation, which may be beneficial to weaned piglet health.
authors.affiliation: Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Danzhou, Hainan, China.
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Danzhou, Hainan, China.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Danzhou, Hainan, China.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Danzhou, Hainan, China.
authors.forename: G Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Danzhou, Hainan, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Danzhou, Hainan, China.|College of Agriculture, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D016207:Cytokines; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D031701:Piper / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016207:Cytokines; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
keywords: Piper sarmentosum extracts; antioxidant capability; growth; immune response; weaned piglets